It was time to head Down Under to Albert Park for what promised to be an exciting Qualifying Session!
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, and Zhou Guanyu were the four slowest drivers. Nico Hulkenberg will definitely be disappointed with a Q1 exit given his usually Qualifying experts whilst Pierre Gasly was nowhere compared to his Alpine teammate (over 3 and a half tenths off). Despite clearly going off at Turn 4, Daniel Ricciardo decided to carry on with his lap which ultimately got deleted, and to be honest, I can’t understand what’s going on with Danny Ric right now. Zhou Guanyu ended up the slowest driver in Q1 after picking up some damage on his final run, and it’s obviously worth mentioning that Logan Sargeant isn’t taking part this weekend (after some unfortunate circumstances). Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz managed to top Q1 ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Esteban Ocon all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. Lewis Hamilton has already been struggling this season, but getting knocked out in Q2 is a really disappointing result for the 7-time World Champion. Alex Albon can be pleased with P12 on the Grid whilst Valtteri Bottas also did a decent job to get his Kick Sauber onto the 7th row. Kevin Magnussen will also start on the 7th row for Haas whilst Esteban Ocon was a bit away from the rest in P15. Carlos Sainz once again topped the session, this time by just over a tenth to teammate Charles Leclerc.
Q3
In Qualifying 3, a 1:15.915 was enough for Max Verstappen to take a superb Pole Position for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. Max once again did what Max always does, and I can’t realistically see a world where Verstappen doesn’t win again tomorrow. Despite being over 2 and a half tenths away from Verstappen, Carlos Sainz should be delighted with second place given he literally had surgery two weeks ago whilst Sergio Perez managed third in the other Red Bull. Lando Norris did a great job to qualify 4th for McLaren whilst a mistake from Charles Leclerc sees the Monegasque driver only 5th on the Grid! Oscar Piastri will start 6th in his home race, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell (Merc really don’t have the pace this weekend) and Yuki Tsunoda who did a fantastic job to qualify P8 in his Visa Cash App RB. Aston Martin then locked out the 5th row, with Lance Stroll ahead of Fernando Alonso after both drivers had difficult Q3’s.
Starting Grid for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix and My Qualifying Grades
Max Verstappen: 10
Carlos Sainz: 10
Sergio Perez: 7
Lando Norris: 9
Charles Leclerc: 7
Oscar Piastri: 7
George Russell: 6
Yuki Tsunoda: 10
Lance Stroll: 5
Fernando Alonso: 4
Lewis Hamilton: 3
Alex Albon: 7
Valtteri Bottas: 6
Kevin Magnussen: 5
Esteban Ocon: 4
Nico Hulkenberg: 3
Pierre Gasly: 2
Daniel Ricciardo: 1
Zhou Guanyu: 1
My Predictions for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc
Lando Norris
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