After a final free practice session that somewhat blurred the hierarchical order of the starting grid, the single-seaters of the highest category of motorsport returned to the asphalt of Albert Park to complete the third qualifying session of the 2022 season.
In the first attempt of Q3, Red Bull and Ferrari opted for different strategies, in the Italian team they did an extra warm-up lap, while those of the energy drinks went all out from the first timed lap.
Just after Charles Leclerc took first place with a 1:18.239, ahead of Pérez and Verstappen , Fernando Alonso suffered a hydraulic problem when he was flying and went straight into the wall, causing the red flag with seven to go. minutes to the end of the session and ending his performance in the least expected way.
After a few minutes with Q3 stopped, the drivers returned to the asphalt to do their last fastest laps and look for the third pole of the season. The Red Bulls came out with more fuel and bet on doing two laps, while the Ferraris played it with just one attempt.
Finally, Charles Leclerc improved on his last lap and surprised Max Verstappen, taking pole with a 1:17.868 , ahead of the two Red Bull drivers and a Lando Norris who surprised everyone in fourth position.
Carlos Sainz took longer than expected to leave the garage due to a problem with his car and was unable to improve an already bad time as his compatriot’s red flag forced him to abort his best lap a few meters from the starting line. goal.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso closing the top 10.
2022 Australian GP F1 Qualifying Q3 Results
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
8 | 1’17.868 | 245.168 | ||
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |
6 | 1’18.154 | 0.286 | 0.286 | 244.271 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |
9 | 1’18,240 | 0.372 | 0.086 | 244,003 |
| 4 |  Lando Norris |
6 | 1’18.703 | 0.835 | 0.463 | 242.567 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
10 | 1’18.825 | 0.957 | 0.122 | 242.192 |
| 6 | George Russell |
9 | 1’18.933 | 1.065 | 0.108 | 241.860 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
6 | 1’19,032 | 1,164 | 0.099 | 241,557 |
| 8 |  Stephen Ocon |
6 | 1’19,061 | 1,193 | 0.029 | 241,469 |
| 9 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
6 | 1’19,408 | 1,540 | 0.347 | 240,414 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso |
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| see results | ||||||
The best photos from the 2022 F1 Australian GP qualifying
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Summary of Q2 in qualifying for the Australian GP 2022 F1
After a few minutes of waiting due to a breakdown in Albon ‘s Williams, the traffic light turned green and the Red Bulls and the Mercedes were the first to take to the track, followed by Mick Schumacher, the only Haas who had managed to make it as far as the Q2.
As in Q1, the first competitive times did not arrive until the third lap of the tire, with Verstappen leaving the first reference in 1:18.611, ahead of the Mexican driver and the two Ferraris.
Alonso surprised with a great 1:18.815 and placed second, between the two Red Bull drivers. While the McLarens were sandwiched between the Ferraris , 5th and 6th respectively. After these first laps, Hamilton, Gasly and Ocon completed the top 10.
On the second timed lap, Checo Pérez climbed to first position and Russell put his Mercedes in sixth place, moments before everyone returned to the pits to mount a new set of softs and go out on track to make the last attempt of the race. Q2.
With a reverse strategy, Bottas, Schumacher, Tsunoda and Zhou began their fastest laps with a fairly clear track, taking advantage of the fact that most of their rivals had returned to the garage.
Back on the asphalt, the Ferraris improved and got into the first four places. Behind, Ocon , who was in trouble, also climbed several positions and managed to get into the top 10, with the Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri drivers on the prowl.
Finally, Gasly , Bottas , Tsunoda , Zhou and Schumacher were eliminated in Q2, with Pérez setting the fastest time, a 1:18.340 which helped him finish ahead of Sainz, Leclerc and Verstappen. Red Bull, Ferrari, Alpine, McLaren and Mercedes went through to Q3 with their two cars.
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez |
5 | 1’18,340 | 243,691 | ||
| two | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
9 | 1’18,469 | 0.129 | 0.129 | 243,290 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc |
8 | 1’18.606 | 0.266 | 0.137 | 242.866 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen |
8 | 1’18.611 | 0.271 | 0.005 | 242.851 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso |
7 | 1’18,815 | 0.475 | 0.204 | 242,222 |
| 6 | Lando Norris |
8 | 1’19.066 | 0.726 | 0.251 | 241.453 |
| 7 | George Russell |
9 | 1’19.076 | 0.736 | 0.010 | 241.423 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton |
10 | 1’19.106 | 0.766 | 0.030 | 241.331 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo |
6 | 1’19,130 | 0.790 | 0.024 | 241,258 |
| 10 | Stephen Ocon |
8 | 1’19,136 | 0.796 | 0.006 | 241,240 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly |
8 | 1’19.226 | 0.886 | 0.090 | 240.966 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |
8 | 1’19.410 | 1.070 | 0.184 | 240.408 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
7 | 1’19.424 | 1.084 | 0.014 | 240.365 |
| 14 |  Guanyu Zhou |
5 | 1’20.155 | 1.815 | 0.731 | 238.173 |
| 15 |  Mick Schumacher |
8 | 1’20.465 | 2.125 | 0.310 | 237.255 |
| see results | ||||||
Summary of Q1 in qualifying for the Australian GP 2022 F1
With the lights green, the Haas and the Williams were the first cars out on track, although no one attempted to set a time on their first timed lap due to the difficulty of warming up the soft tyres.
With an extra warm-up lap, Chales Leclerc quickly moved to the top of the timesheets at 1:19.307, ahead of a Lando Norris who hours earlier had caused a surprise by leading FP3.
A few minutes later, Carlos Sainz recorded a 1:19.179 that helped him to take first place, ahead of Checo Pérez who was sandwiched between the Ferraris and Verstappen who failed to get past fourth place on his first valid attempt.
Arriving at the middle of the session and with half the grid without setting a time, Leclerc made the first 1:18 on Saturday by setting a 1:18.881 that took him to the first position.
Bottas and Alonso quickly moved into the lead of the pack, 5th and 6th respectively, just ahead of the McLarens. Behind, the teams were also ordering themselves as expected, with the Williams, the Haas and Guanyu Zhou at the back of the grid. The Aston Martins, with problems after the two accidents in FP3, did not even go out to shoot.
With five minutes to go before the checkered flag for Q1, nearly every driver returned to the pits to fit a new set of soft tyres, particularly those in danger of elimination from 10th and back.
The two Mercedes were the first to improve and rose to eighth and ninth position, saved but still far from expected, while behind Stroll went out on the track for the first time in the entire classification and the Williams and the Haas saw their options moving to Q2 were reduced at times.
With two minutes still on the clock, Stroll and Latifi collided at turn five with two minutes remaining in Q1 and the Williams driver went into the wall, causing a red flag that ruined most of the laps.
With 120 seconds to go, the traffic light turned green again and the group of drivers who rushed the fastest went out on the track to try to make one last attempt, creating battles on the track from the same installation lap due to the little margin . Thanks to that extra time, Aston Martin were able to complete the work on Vettel ‘s car and the German was able to go out for a ride.
In the end almost nobody managed to improve and Albon , Magnussen , Vettel , Latifi and Stroll fell in Q1. At the top, Verstappen set the fastest time ( 1:18.580 ), followed by his teammate Perez, Leclerc, Sainz and Alonso who continued to show a very good pace with the Alpine.
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
 |
7 | 1’18.580 | 242.947 | ||
| two | Sergio Perez |
 |
7 | 1’18,834 | 0.254 | 0.254 | 242,164 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
5 | 1’18.881 | 0.301 | 0.047 | 242.020 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
7 | 1’18,983 | 0.403 | 0.102 | 241,707 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
6 | 1’19.192 | 0.612 | 0.209 | 241.069 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas |
 |
5 | 1’19.251 | 0.671 | 0.059 | 240.890 |
| 7 | Lando Norris |
 |
6 | 1’19.280 | 0.700 | 0.029 | 240.802 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
8 | 1’19.401 | 0.821 | 0.121 | 240.435 |
| 9 | George Russell |
 |
8 | 1’19.405 | 0.825 | 0.004 | 240.423 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
11 | 1’19,580 | 1,000 | 0.175 | 239,894 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
9 | 1’19.605 | 1.025 | 0.025 | 239.819 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
10 | 1’19.665 | 1.085 | 0.060 | 239.638 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
Ten | 1’19.742 | 1.162 | 0.077 | 239.407 |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou |
 |
11 | 1’19.910 | 1.330 | 0.168 | 238.903 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
11 | 1’20.104 | 1.524 | 0.194 | 238.325 |
| 16 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
11 | 1’20.135 | 1.555 | 0.031 | 238.232 |
| 17 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
11 | 1’20.254 | 1.674 | 0.119 | 237.879 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
3 | 1’21.149 | 2.569 | 0.895 | 235.256 |
| 19 |  Nicholas Latifi |
 |
8 | 1’21.372 | 2.792 | 0.223 | 234.611 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll |
 |
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| see results | |||||||
