Three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen continued his dominant start to the season as he clinched pole position for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz qualifying alongside on the front row.
While Verstappen taking pole was on expected lines, the more surprising result was record eight-time Australian pole winner Lewis Hamilton not making it into the final round of qualifying.
Verstappen has won both races so far this season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was second both times and Red Bull will be looking continue their excellent start at the Albert Park street circuit. Perez qualified third for Sunday's race but will start from sixth after being slapped with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg, bumping up McLaren's Lando Norris.
Verstappen lapped in one minute, 15.915 seconds, 0.27 seconds ahead of Sainz, to claim his third pole for the season and fourth in succession.
"It was a bit unexpected today in qualifying, but very happy with Q3," said the triple world champion.
"It was a bit of a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end, so very happy with that.
"(Ferrari) seem very quick, also in the long runs. So a bit of a question mark tomorrow but that makes it exciting."
After winning the last nine rounds, stretching back to his win at September's race in Japan, Verstappen heads into Sunday's 58-lap race as the favourite to take another victory and equal his record.
Sainz was returning from appendix surgery ahead of the last race in Saudi Arabia, and was quickly back in the mix.
Sainz said he was happy to be challenging the Red Bulls soon upon his return. The Spaniard, who had emergency surgery in Jeddah to remove his appendix only a fortnight ago, said: "It has been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting to see if I would be here today, and to make it to this weekend and then to put it on the front row, I almost didn't believe it.
"I was rusty yesterday but I got up to speed and found the pace and I feel good with the car.
"I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done. I have a lot of wired feelings, but no pain, so I will go flat out."
It was a difficult day for Mercedes, with Hamilton suffering his worst qualifying at Albert Park in a decade.
Hamilton failed to make the third session of qualifying and will start 11th on the grid, his worst result in Australia since qualifying 11th in the 2010 race.
The Briton's time was nearly a second slower than Sainz (1:16.189) in Q2, and he has been outqualified in every race this season by team mate George Russell, who qualified seventh.
Local star Daniel Ricciardo of RB was eliminated in Q1 in a massive blow and will start 18th after his fastest lap was deleted for going off-track at turn five.
"It’s very difficult to swallow but that’s the way it is," said RB team boss Laurent Mekies.
"Daniel was doing a very good job, it was probably his best lap so far of the weekend."
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
