Norris storms to pole position for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Piastri and Verstappen

Lando Norris surged to pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the McLaren driver having just edged out team mate Oscar Piastri by 0.084s to secure a front row lockout for the reigning Teams’ Champions.

After Max Verstappen had initially secured provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, Piastri thrilled the crowd at his home event by stunningly beating that effort by four-tenths. But the Australian did not keep P1 for long, as Norris went even faster on a lap of 1m 15.096s.

Verstappen wound up in third, the Red Bull man seemingly ready to take the fight to McLaren, while George Russell was fourth for Mercedes ahead of an impressive fifth place for Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls machine.

Alex Albon put his Williams in sixth – another midfield team hinting at promise – with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton having to settle for seventh and eighth in a not entirely smooth session for the Scuderia. Pierre Gasly was ninth for Alpine, with Carlos Sainz ending his first Qualifying for Williams in P10.

After an eye-catching weekend so far for Racing Bulls, rookie Isack Hadjar just missed out on reaching the top 10 in P11, while Aston Martin suffered a double elimination in Q2 after Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll exited in P12 and P13 respectively.

Jack Doohan put his Alpine in 14th during a solid session – the Australian having to abandon his final lap after the yellow flags were briefly thrown in Q2 following a spin for Hamilton – and 2024 F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto was 15th in his first outing for Kick Sauber.

Ollie Bearman’s challenging weekend continued in Qualifying, with the Haas youngster unable to put any laps in following a gearbox issue. Also facing a tough Q1 was his fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli – the Mercedes driver just missing the cut in P16 – while Liam Lawson faced an early exit on his Red Bull debut in P18.

Some more experienced names were also out of the running in the early stages of Qualifying, with Nico Hulkenberg out in P17 for Kick Sauber while Haas’ Esteban Ocon was down in P19, one place ahead of his sidelined team mate.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Norris fastest as Antonelli, Lawson and Bearman exit

Hours on from an eventful final practice, all attentions had switched to the first Qualifying of the 2025 season in Melbourne. Some question marks remained entering into session, with a key one being over how Bearman would fare following his second big crash of the weekend in FP3, leaving the Haas driver with a lack of mileage during the weekend so far.

There was also some uncertainty facing Lawson, who was sidelined in third practice owing to a power unit issue. As the lights went green for Q1 at 1600 local time, it was the Haas pair of Ocon and Bearman who led out a queue of cars from the pit lane – but there were soon further issues for Bearman, who reported a gearbox issue that forced him to return to the pits.

As the first flying laps went on the board – the majority of the pack having bolted on the soft tyres – Norris went fastest with his effort of 1m 16.003s, just over one-hundredth of a second clear of a racy-looking Verstappen, while Piastri was a further tenth back in third.

Also catching the eye during the initial runs was Alonso, who slotted his Aston Martin into fifth, while Lawson faced further trouble after heading into the gravel and triggering the yellow flags in the process. The New Zealander remained in the drop zone with a few minutes to go, along with Gasly, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Bearman, the latter still in the pits following his earlier issues.

Antonelli, meanwhile, was also at risk in P14, the Mercedes rookie having dipped a wheel in the gravel during his effort. In a bid to get himself out of danger, Lawson headed out for a final lap – before running onto the grass, leaving the Red Bull driver down in P18.

Gasly hauled himself out of the elimination zone to go into the top 10, just behind team mate Doohan, while an increasingly at risk Hamilton improved to sixth in his first Qualifying as a Ferrari driver.

There was no such luck for Hamilton’s Mercedes replacement Antonelli, who was pushed down to P16 following an improvement from fellow rookie Bortoleto, the Kick Sauber man just making it through into P15. The Silver Arrows later confirmed that bib damage had caused a “loss of performance” for Antonelli’s final two laps.

Meanwhile Bortoleto’s team mate Hulkenberg exited in 17th, ahead of Lawson in 18th and the Haas duo of Ocon and Bearman in 19th and 20th respectively, marking the continuation of a tough weekend for the American outfit.

Knocked out: Antonelli, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, Bearman

Q2 – P1 again for Norris as Hamilton spin sparks yellow flags

It was a busy start to Q2, with Verstappen heading out first and setting the initial pace before being dislodged by home favourite Piastri and fellow McLaren driver Norris, all three sporting a set of fresh soft tyres.

There was a wild moment for Alonso, the Aston Martin driver running over the kerbs and kicking up gravel in the process, resulting in a return to the pits without setting a lap. Also lacking a time was Doohan, the Alpine man having lost his effort due to exceeding track limits, while the other names at risk were Hadjar, Stroll and Bortoleto.

Hamilton, meanwhile, looked to be moving closer to team mate Leclerc, the seven-time World Champion slotting in just under one-tenth behind in sixth place – though both remained several tenths off Piastri’s effort. With both Scuderia drivers heading out for their last efforts on used rubber, would this decision cost them?

Bortoleto made an impressive save after nearly losing his Kick Sauber during his final run – but there was trouble for Hamilton who brought out the yellow flags after spinning, meaning that several drivers would likely be compromised.

While Norris went quickest on a 1m 15.415s – and Hamilton remained safe in P6 – Hadjar just missed out on Q3 in 11th place. There was a double Aston Martin exit for Alonso and Stroll in 12th and 13th respectively, and also exiting were rookies Doohan – who was forced to abandon his final lap owing to the yellow flags – and Bortoleto.

Knocked out: Hadjar, Alonso, Stroll, Doohan, Bortoleto

Q3 – Norris beats Piastri by 0.084s for pole position

After all of the preceding action, it was time for the top-10 shootout at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. And the drama continued as the first laps went on the board, with Leclerc initially looking to have secured provisional pole before Verstappen – just eight-hundredths clear on a 1m 15.671s – as well as Russell bettered the Ferrari man’s effort.

Norris, meanwhile, had his time deleted due to exceeding track limits, leaving the Briton with it all to do in the final runs. While Piastri was fourth, Albon caught the eye in fifth for Williams from Tsunoda, Hamilton – who dipped a wheel in the gravel during his lap – Gasly, Sainz and Norris.

A queue had formed in the pit lane as the clock ticked down for the final minutes, with home favourite Piastri leading the way. The Australian promptly delighted his home crowd by beating Verstappen’s benchmark by a whopping four-tenths – but this effort was then beaten by Norris, the Briton setting a time of 1m 15.096s to go just 0.084s quicker.

While Russell looked to have taken third during the final runs, Verstappen improved again to reclaim the position, pushing the Mercedes driver down to fourth. Tsunoda, meanwhile, impressed by snatching fifth, continuing a solid weekend for Racing Bulls.

Albon led the charge for Williams in sixth, while it proved to be a tricky day for Ferrari as Leclerc and Hamilton wound up in seventh and eighth respectively. Gasly followed in ninth for Alpine, with Williams’ Sainz just behind in 10th place.

Key quote

"[I'm feeling] very good!" said polesitter Norris. "It’s the perfect way to start the year. First of all, a big congrats to the team – everyone at McLaren has done an amazing job to continue from where we were at the end of last season, to start with a 1-2. It’s just quali, right? Let’s wait and see tomorrow. I know it’s going to be a tricky race, but today was the perfect way to start."

What’s next

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix is set to begin at 1500 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from Melbourne.