F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying LIVE: Updates from Melbourne as Hamilton, Verstappen and Leclerc battle for pole

Merc my words

Somewhat of a comeback for Mercedes in Australia.

Lewis Hamilton will be 5th on the grid tomorrow after qualifying.

The seven-time champion will be in with a real shot if the car gives him what he needs.

George Russell qualified 6th.

One step closer for Verstappen

Max Verstappen gives his view after finishing second in qualifying.

He will start behind LeClerc on the grid tomorrow in Melbourne.

The 24-year-old said: “For me this weekend so far has been all over the place, I’m happy to be second, but as a team we want more.”

LeClerc happy on top

Charles LeClerc spoke after making pole for tomorrow’s race.

The Ferrari ace said: “The free practice sessions were quite messy for me, but in Q3 I managed to put everything together, so it feels great.

“I’m very happy to be on pole tomorrow!”

Dennis continued

Dennis said: “In 2020, I basically lived at the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes. I was there all the time.

“I didn’t really have too much racing going on myself and they needed a driver who had a bit of F1 experience.

“This year has been pretty hectic already. I think with a new car it just puts more demand on the workload.

“So there’s been quite a lot of simulator work and that will continue on throughout the year.”

Exclusive by Ben Hunt

Max Verstappen’s bid to defend his F1 crown is being boosted by British racer Jake Dennis.

The 26-year-old from Nuneaton is Red Bull’s development driver and he also races in Formula E for the Andretti team.

Dennis is a versatile driver and spends HOURS in Red Bull’s simulator to help fine-tune Verstappen’s race car.

While he is also out to win the Formula E title himself this season after finishing third in the championship last year in his rookie season.

Dennis, who will race in the Rome ePrix today, says he enjoys balancing his own racing commitments with working for Red Bull.

Leclerc takes pole

Sensational lap from the Ferrari man to start P1.

Verstappen is second in his Red Bull, Perez in P3.

And what about this! Lando Norris in fourth. A great recovery from him.

Hamilton qualifies in fifth, Russell in sixth.

Phew, all poised for an exciting battle tomorrow.

Russell, from nowhere, pops up in P4

Great lap from the Mercedes man while Hamilton is struggling.

Q3 is go again

Six minutes to go and it is Leclerc, Perez, Verstappen.

Things just are not clicking for Alonso

He has been at Alpine for a while now and spoke about ‘El Plan’ when he rejoined F1.

It has been more pain than a plan. He trudges back to the garage as the session is delayed again.

Almost seven minutes left on the clock.

Red flag – Crash for Alonso

The two-time world champion has lost control and slams into the barriers. He is out of the car and out of this qualifying.

Q3 is go

Shoot-out for the top 10 is underway in Oz. Verstappen v Leclerc, or can someone else spring a surprise?

Bottas’s run comes to an end

The first time since 2016 the Finn has not reached Q3.

Out in Q2

Gasly, Bottas, Tsunoda, Zhou and Schumacher are eliminated. Both McLarens are in to Q3. That’s a good upturn for the Woking team.

Tsunoda runs into the gravel…

And Lewis Hamilton is having difficulty staying on track.

Meanwhile, Leclerc has asked for a new helmet with a dark visor, as the low sun is making it difficult to see. He says it is dangerous.

Another fine for Vettel.

Yesterday it was €5,000 for riding a scooter on the track after his car broke down.

Today it is €600 for breaking the speed limit in the pit lane. He was clocked at 85.1km/h, a total of 5.1km/h over the regulation speed.

Hamilton unhappy with Verstappen

The Dutchman was unaware Hamilton was approaching on a flying lap and did not move out of the way.

Hamilton radios his team to complain while Verstappen also radios his team to ask if Hamilton was on a flyer.

It seems he was unaware he was, so bit of a mistake from Red Bull’s pitwall not to warn their driver to move out of the way.

Bit of a mistake from Russell

The Brit goes off track in his Mercedes, but produced a neat 180 degree spin to get back pointing the right way again.

Q2 is go

Who will be the big scalp here? Can McLaren reach the top 10?

Q1 is done

Albon has been told to stop his Williams and switch it off. He’s still on track.

A double-disappointment for Williams.

Stroll, Latifi, Vettel, Albon and Magnussen are all eliminated.

Last push for Vettel to set a time

The German has only just made it on track after crashing in final practice.

Session will resume with 2.01 seconds remaining

Vettel, Stroll, Latifi, Magnussen and Albon all in the drop zone.

O Canada, O Canada!

That’s a bad accident, thankfully Latifi and Stroll are both OK. Terrible awareness from Stroll who simply cut across in front of the Williams.

Fair to say, neither of these drivers have done enough to warrant their places on the grid based on the last handful of races.

Red flag

Qualifying comes to an abrupt stop as Latifi DOES crash this time.

A ridiculous smash into Lance Stroll.

Latifi is about to start a flying lap and allows Stroll to pass. But then overtakes him but Stroll is unaware and moves across into his path.

‘Porpoising’ is still a massive problem

The on-board cameras are revealing some terrible turbulence for Lewis Hamilton, who is bouncing about like a ping-pong ball at high speed.