F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying: McLaren start the year on the front foot

The first qualifying session of the 2025 Formula 1 season is here, and it is all to play for at the Australian Grand Prix.

Saturday’s third practice session saw hometown hero Oscar Piastri top the timing sheets, as lap times tumbled throughout the hour-long session as teams and drivers put in more simulated qualifying runs. However, Piastri is not the only driver to watch as qualifying begins. Mercedes driver George Russell was just 0.039 seconds off Piastri’s pace, and Max Verstappen was just 0.081 seconds behind in third.

But several other drivers are in the mix. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton showed improved pace on Saturday, and Russell’s new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fifth in FP3. The Williams pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon finished sixth and seventh respectively — and showed true race pace earlier in the session with some laps on the hard compound — and Lando Norris was on a blistering lap at one point before bailing out in the final sector. Norris finished in P10 but those first two sectors certainly caught the eyes of many in the paddock.

Follow along live as we break down the first qualifying session of the 2025 F1 season.

All times are in Eastern.

Here are the provisional qualifying results for the Australian Grand Prix:

2:02: It is a McLaren front row, with Norris in P1 and Piastri in P2. A “huge” result for McLaren says Jolyon Palmer in the booth on F1TV. Verstappen and Russell will start on the second row.

Perhaps the biggest stunner of them all? Yuki Tsunoda in P5. What a drive.

2:01: Leclerc slots in fifth, Hamilton sixth.

2:00: Norris pips his teammate to jump to the top of the timing sheets. Verstappen slots in third, with Russell behind him in fourth.

1:59: Piastri jumps to the top on provisional pole.

1:57: With four minutes left in Q3 the ten cars roar out of their respective garages to get their final runs in.

1:52: Verstappen on provisional pole, followed by Russell, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton. Norris had a quick lap, but it was deleted for exceeding track limits.

1:49: Race officials have already determined that the incident between Russell and Leclerc required no further action.

1:48: A green light in Melbourne for Q3.

1:47: Lots of purple microsectors for both Piastri and Norris on their first push laps.

1:46: An incident between Russell and Leclerc for potential impeding at Turn 4 has been noted by race officials.

1:43: The top ten in Q2, who will advance to Q3: Norris, , Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Tsunoda, Albon, and Gasly.

Two McLaren drivers, two Ferrari drivers, two Williams drivers, a Red Bull, a VCARB, and an Alpine. Just what we all expected.

1:42: Q2 comes to a close with Hadjar, Alonso, Stroll, Doohan, and Bortoleto eliminated.

1:35: WIth five minutes now left in Q2 Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc remain the top five, with the top four there still in the garage. Leclerc just finished another push lap and did not improve his position. Hamilton jumped up into P6 behind his new Ferrari teammate.

1:33 With seven minutes left in Q2 the five drivers in the elimination zone are Hadjar, Stroll, Bortoleto, Alonso, and Doohan. Neither Alonso nor Doohan have posted a lap time yet, as the Aston Martin driver bailed out of his push lap after running wide at Turn 10, and Doohan’s lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.

For more on track limits we have you covered here.

1:32 Replays on F1TV show both Alonso and Sainz run wide at Turn 10 and into the gravel. Sainz radios into the Williams garage to check the floor of his FW47.

1:30 Ten minutes left in Q2, and Piastri is atop the timing sheets, just 0.088 seconds ahead of Norris. Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc round out our current top five.

1:26 Q2 is underway, with Verstappen and Leclerc on the track.

1:21: The five drivers eliminated: Antonelli, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, and Bearman.

1:20: Bortoleto comes across the line at the death and jumps into P15, bumping his fellow rookie Antonelli down to P16. A massive lap from Bortoleto and Sauber, as the rookie out-qualifies his teammate Hülkenberg, who finished in P17.

1:18: Gasly gets the lap he needs and jumps to P8. Doohan then jumps ahead of him into P8, pushing his teammate down to P9.

1:17: Lawson finds the grass at Turn 9 and is headed to the pits, he will be eliminated in Q1 along with Bearman, who has not left the garage given his gearbox issue.

1:15: With three minutes left in Q1 the five drivers in the drop zone are Gasly, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, and Bearman. Those in danger of elimination include Isack Hadjar in P11, Jack Doohan in P12, Yuki Tsunoda in P13, Antonelli in P15, and Gabriel Bortoleto in P15.

1:13 Replays show Liam Lawson take a quick detour through the gravel, but the Red Bull driver manages to avoid the wall on his journey.

1:10 Russell goes into P4, but he posts that on the medium compound. Mercedes has both him and Antonelli out on the medium tires to start Q1.

1:08: With ten minutes left in FP1 Norris is atop the board, followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso.

1:06 Lando Norris goes to the top of the timing sheets with just under 12 minutes left in Q1.

1:01 Bearman just reported that he has a problem with his gearbox and he peels into the pits.

1:00 We have a green light in Melbourne and Q1 is underway. Perhaps unsurprisingly Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman — who crashed in both FP1 (which caused him to miss FP2) and FP3 — were the first two off pit lane.