Max Verstappen takes first Australian Grand prix pole

Max Verstappen took his first-ever pole position in Melbourne as he faced much more competition than expected in qualifying.

Max Verstappen qualified on pole for the first time at the Australian Grand Prix. (Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)

Verstappen set a lap of 1:16.732 ahead of the Mercedes pairing of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who showed glimpses of a return to form during the cool afternoon session.

"The last run was very good,” said Verstappen.

“The whole weekend has been very tough to get the tyres in the right window to push straight away, but it all worked out in Q3."

“Very happy to be in pole position.”

“Tomorrow we will have a good race car and it will be an interesting race."

Lap time and tyre analysis from Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix - click to enlarge. (PirellI)

The first session of qualifying was interrupted when Sergio Perez went deep into the gravel at turn one after complaining of brake issues.

The threat of rain loomed over the session but it remained dry and ran smoothly when the timer began once again.

Aussie Oscar Piastri was on the bubble in Q1, eliminated alongside Zhou Guanyu, Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Perez.

Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, Kevin Magnussen and Nyck De Vries were the drivers out in Q2, with Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg impressing with their appearances in Q3.

George Russell was just over two-hundredths of a second behind the Red Bull, with Lewis Hamilton putting the second Mercedes-AMG Petronas ahead of Aston Martin challenger Fernando Alonso.

“Leaving aside Verstappen’s final run, today was very close, with barely four-tenths of a second covering P2 to P7 on the grid,” said Mario Isola, head of motorsport at Pirelli.

Carlos Sainz was the lead Ferrari in fifth, with Lance Stroll in sixth.

Charles Leclerc will line up seventh for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top ten.

Watch every session of the Formula One World Championship on Kayo Sports - Get your free trial now!