{"id":273000,"date":"2025-04-03T10:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T10:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/australian-grand-prix-f1-lando-norris-takes-pole-leads-mclaren-1-2-with-piastri-in-melbourne-qualifying\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T10:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T10:11:09","slug":"australian-grand-prix-f1-lando-norris-takes-pole-leads-mclaren-1-2-with-piastri-in-melbourne-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/australian-grand-prix-f1-lando-norris-takes-pole-leads-mclaren-1-2-with-piastri-in-melbourne-qualifying\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Grand Prix, F1: Lando Norris takes pole, leads McLaren 1-2 with Piastri in Melbourne qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Australian<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris kept his cool on a sweltering afternoon at Albert Park to take pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday as his teammate Oscar Piastri joined him on the front row.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defending champion Max Verstappen will start his Red Bull car third on the grid ahead of fourth-placed Mercedes driver George Russell but it was a disappointing session for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc to start seventh and Lewis Hamilton eighth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Briton Norris lapped the lakeside circuit in one minute, 15.096 seconds, 0.084 ahead of Melbourne native Piastri, who will hope to become Australia\u2019s first home winner since the race joined F1\u2019s global calendar in 1985.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect way to start the year,\u201d said Norris.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m never going to get ahead of myself, I\u2019m not that kind of guy. I\u2019m confident the car is in a great position but we\u2019ve also never run in the wet,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rain forecast for Sunday could make the race a lottery but McLaren were delighted with their raw pace in the dry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lando Lando Norris took pole position at the Australian Grand Prix as his teammate Oscar Piastri joined him on the front row. (Photo: AP)<\/span><\/p>\n

Verstappen, bidding for a fifth consecutive drivers\u2019 title, had struggled with handling problems through free practice so he was also glad to be near the front for Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday was quite tough so for us to be in P3 today I will take that,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFor me dry or wet is fine, in the weather there is always some crazy things that can happen and especially around here it can be quite slippery.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Racing Bulls were buoyed to have a car fifth on the grid as Yuki Tsunoda drove like a man with a point to prove after missing out on a Red Bull seat to New Zealander Liam Lawson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams also landed a blow in the mid-field battle, with Alex Albon sixth, four places better than teammate Carlos Sainz.<\/span><\/p>\n

MUCH TO DISSECT<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ferrari\u2019s underwhelming pace was a surprise to their rivals and to Hamilton, whose quickest lap in the final qualifying session (Q3) was nearly nine-tenths of a second slower than Norris\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He also lost control and spun in the middle of the track at one point during Q2.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know we\u2019d be nine-tenths off or eight-tenths off today but there is a lot to dissect, for sure,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow\u2019s going to be a challenge, I\u2019ve never driven this car in the rain. I don\u2019t even know the rain settings so I\u2019ve got to go and study that tonight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pierre Gasly was ninth for Alpine, comfortably out-qualifying his new teammate Jack Doohan (14).<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar was 11th, the best of the six drivers in Australia starting a Formula One season for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a mixed bag for the others, with Sauber\u2019s Gabriel Bortoleto 15th after scraping into the second session of qualifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having triggered two red flags in two days of practice, Haas rookie Oliver Bearman suffered a gearbox problem in his out-lap and had to return to the garage, unable to post a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

His teammate Esteban Ocon will be at the back of the grid after qualifying 19th.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lawson\u2019s Red Bull debut was forgettable, having been knocked out of Q1 after sitting out the final practice earlier in the day due to a power unit problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercedes\u2019 Andrea Kimi Antonelli also missed Q2, knocked out of the top 15 by a last-ditch lap from Bortoleto.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n