Argentine driver Franco Colapinto (Alpine) could not stand out in qualifying and will start 16th in the Australian Grand Prix, the first round of the Formula 1 World Championship. Pole position went to British driver George Russell (Mercedes), while the big disappointment was Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who crashed in Q1 and will start 20th.
Colapinto's qualifying began well, as he managed to close Q1 in a dramatic 15th place, which allowed him to make it into Q2 as the clock hit zero with a time of 2:21,200. Thus, the drivers eliminated in the first qualifying session were Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Mexican Sergio Pérez (Cadillac), Finn Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams), and Canadian Lance Stroll.
Colapinto's participation in the qualifying ended in the second session, where he could not put in a good lap and had to settle for a time of 1:21,270, which left him in 16th place. Another driver eliminated in Q2 was his teammate at Alpine, Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who finished 14th. Beside him, in fourth place, will start Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
The other drivers starting in the top 10 are Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), British drivers Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), New Zealander Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), British driver Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi).
The Australian Grand Prix of Formula 1 is scheduled for this Sunday at 1:00 AM and will be covered live by the Argentine News Agency.
German Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), British Oliver Bearman (Haas), French Esteban Ocon (Haas), and Thai Alexander Albon (Williams) also failed to make the cut.
Finally, in Q3, the dominance was absolute for the Mercedes drivers, who secured a 1-2 finish and will start on the first row of the grid. The best time was set by Russell, who lapped in 1:18,518, while Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli was 293 thousandths behind. One of the surprises was Frenchman Isack Hadjar, who in his first race for Red Bull will start third.
