Leclerc secured his second pole of the season courtesy of a final lap improvement that surpassed Verstappen's previous best.
The one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3, was twice red-flagged and meant the decisive final laps took place amid a low sun that proved distracting for the drivers.
But Leclerc made no such mistake to claim the tenth pole of his F1 career and draw level with 1970 world champion Jochen Rindt's tally.
Australian Grand Prix qualifying results: Leclerc on pole from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |  | 1'17.868 | 245.168 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |  | 1'18.154 | 0.286 | 244.271 |
| 3 |  Sergio Perez |  | 1'18.240 | 0.372 | 244.003 |
| 4 |  Lando Norris |  | 1'18.703 | 0.835 | 242.567 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |  | 1'18.825 | 0.957 | 242.192 |
| 6 | George Russell |  | 1'18.933 | 1.065 | 241.860 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | 1'19.032 | 1.164 | 241.557 |
| 8 |  Esteban Ocon |  | 1'19.061 | 1.193 | 241.469 |
| 9 |  Carlos Sainz Jr |  | 1'19.408 | 1.540 | 240.414 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso |  | |||
| 11 | Pierre Gasly |  | 1'19.226 | 1.358 | 240.966 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | 1'19.410 | 1.542 | 240.408 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1'19.424 | 1.556 | 240.365 |
| 14 |  Zhou Guanyu |  | 1'20.155 | 2.287 | 238.173 |
| 15 |  Mick Schumacher |  | 1'20.465 | 2.597 | 237.255 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | 1'20.254 | 2.386 | 237.879 |
| 17 | Sebastian Vettel |  | 1'21.149 | 3.281 | 235.256 |
| 18 |  Nicholas Latifi |  | 1'21.372 | 3.504 | 234.611 |
| 19 |  Alex Albon |  | 1'20.135 | 2.267 | 238.232 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll |  | |||
| View full results | |||||
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q1?
Leclerc set the early pace at 1m19.391s, which was quickly beaten by his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr on 1m19.179s. But Leclerc took top spot back on his second push lap of 1m18.881s, with Verstappen rising to second, just 0.044s in arrears.
Verstappen then grabbed P1 at 1m18.580s on his third attempt, a quarter of a second ahead of Perez and the Ferraris.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi brought out a red flag for the second Q1 in a row with two minutes to go, as he collided with fellow Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) in a bizarre incident that sent him spinning into the wall.
Falling at the first hurdle were Williams driver Alex Albon, who has a three-place grid penalty carried over from contact with Stroll in Jeddah and stopped on track on his in-lap, Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Sebastian Vettel (whose Aston Martin was repaired after a big shunt in FP3), Latifi and Stroll.
Australian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 7 | 1'18.580 | 242.947 | ||
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 7 | 1'18.834 | 0.254 | 0.254 | 242.164 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 5 | 1'18.881 | 0.301 | 0.047 | 242.020 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 7 | 1'18.983 | 0.403 | 0.102 | 241.707 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 6 | 1'19.192 | 0.612 | 0.209 | 241.069 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 5 | 1'19.251 | 0.671 | 0.059 | 240.890 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 6 | 1'19.280 | 0.700 | 0.029 | 240.802 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 8 | 1'19.401 | 0.821 | 0.121 | 240.435 |
| 9 | George Russell | Mercedes | 8 | 1'19.405 | 0.825 | 0.004 | 240.423 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 11 | 1'19.580 | 1.000 | 0.175 | 239.894 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 9 | 1'19.605 | 1.025 | 0.025 | 239.819 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 10 | 1'19.665 | 1.085 | 0.060 | 239.638 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 10 | 1'19.742 | 1.162 | 0.077 | 239.407 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 11 | 1'19.910 | 1.330 | 0.168 | 238.903 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 11 | 1'20.104 | 1.524 | 0.194 | 238.325 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | 11 | 1'20.135 | 1.555 | 0.031 | 238.232 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 11 | 1'20.254 | 1.674 | 0.119 | 237.879 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 3 | 1'21.149 | 2.569 | 0.895 | 235.256 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 8 | 1'21.372 | 2.792 | 0.223 | 234.611 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 2 | ||||
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q2?
Verstappen set the bar at 1m18.611s, which was beaten by Perez on 1m18.340s. On his in-lap, Verstappen appeared to impede Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, which he hadn’t been told was on a fast lap, while stewards will investigate whether Perez slowed enough for yellow flags.
In the closing moments, Sainz took second, ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen.
Knocked out at this point were Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri, who suffered a gravelly off), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (Haas).
Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix Q2 results: Perez fastest from Sainz
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 5 | 1'18.340 | 243.691 | ||
| 2 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 9 | 1'18.469 | 0.129 | 0.129 | 243.290 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 8 | 1'18.606 | 0.266 | 0.137 | 242.866 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 8 | 1'18.611 | 0.271 | 0.005 | 242.851 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 7 | 1'18.815 | 0.475 | 0.204 | 242.222 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 8 | 1'19.066 | 0.726 | 0.251 | 241.453 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 9 | 1'19.076 | 0.736 | 0.010 | 241.423 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 10 | 1'19.106 | 0.766 | 0.030 | 241.331 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 6 | 1'19.130 | 0.790 | 0.024 | 241.258 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 8 | 1'19.136 | 0.796 | 0.006 | 241.240 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 8 | 1'19.226 | 0.886 | 0.090 | 240.966 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 8 | 1'19.410 | 1.070 | 0.184 | 240.408 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 7 | 1'19.424 | 1.084 | 0.014 | 240.365 |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 5 | 1'20.155 | 1.815 | 0.731 | 238.173 |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 8 | 1'20.465 | 2.125 | 0.310 | 237.255 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen lapped in 1m18.399s before Perez circulated 0.001s faster. Leclerc then snatched the top spot with 1m18.239s, just as Fernando Alonso shunted his Alpine at Turn 11, smashing his front-left corner against the wall and blaming his hydraulics for not being able to downshift. The lights turned red just before Sainz crossed the line to complete his first flyer.
On the final runs once Alonso's car had been craned away, Verstappen grabbed pole with 1m18.154s but Leclerc snatched it back on 1m17.868s. Sainz, meanwhile, suffered a moment at Turn 6 and didn’t complete a clear lap – meaning he starts down in ninth.
Perez will start third, ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren) and the Mercedes of Hamilton and George Russell. Home hero Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) was seventh from Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Sainz and Alonso.
Australian Grand Prix Q3 results: Leclerc takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 8 | 1'17.868 | 245.168 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 6 | 1'18.154 | 0.286 | 0.286 | 244.271 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 9 | 1'18.240 | 0.372 | 0.086 | 244.003 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 6 | 1'18.703 | 0.835 | 0.463 | 242.567 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 10 | 1'18.825 | 0.957 | 0.122 | 242.192 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 9 | 1'18.933 | 1.065 | 0.108 | 241.860 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 6 | 1'19.032 | 1.164 | 0.099 | 241.557 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 6 | 1'19.061 | 1.193 | 0.029 | 241.469 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 6 | 1'19.408 | 1.540 | 0.347 | 240.414 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 2 | ||||
| View full results | |||||||
