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Tyres NorthamptonF1 championship leader Charles Leclerc took his second pole position of 2022 after a stop-start qualifying in front of packed grandstands at Melbourne's Albert Park. Leclerc kept his composure under the low afternoon sunshine to pip reigning champ Max Verstappen to P1, forcing his Red Bull rival to second place and without a pole this year.
It was an entertaining session, despite the stoppages, as drivers got to grips with Pirellis's first outing of the softest C5 compound. The tyre appeared to have more life in it than some thought, and most runners chose to have two attacking laps with a cool-down in between to double their chances of a high starting position.
Two red flags and a long break between Q1 and Q2 to recover Alex Albon's stranded Williams caused frustration for some – the second red flag might've cost Ferrari a 1-2 start. Carlos Sainz was only a few metres from the line when the stewards halted the session, meaning he couldn't complete his flying lap. A mistake for him on his last run means he finished in a lowly P9.
Sainz's missed opportunity sees Red Bull with the strategic advantage for Sunday's race as Sergio Perez took third place to play rear-gunner for Verstappen. However, a question mark did hang over the Mexican after footage showed that he failed to slow down under waved yellow flags in Q2 – but he will dodge the potential 3-place grid penalty.
The running order differed significantly from the opening rounds as McLaren and Alpine joined Mercedes to hunt for the spots behind the Ferraris and Red Bulls. An overnight change to the DRS zones saw the field close up, benefiting Alpine most notably as Fernando Alonso looked fully capable of challenging for a front-row slot.
Alonso's dreams of reaching the top fell to pieces on a lap where he had a purple sector time, showing the pace his Alpine A522 held. However, another mechanical failure saw him run into the barriers. His power unit appeared to cut out as he hit the apex of the reprofiled Turn 11, leaving the Spaniard unable to slow down as his car headed through the gravel. The resulting red flag also left him without a Q3 lap time, meaning he'll join compatriot Sainz on the fifth row in P10.
It wasn't only Alonso who failed to bring his car back to the pits, either. With so many drivers taking advantage of Pirelli's more durable red-walled C5 tyres, there was plenty of traffic in the 20-car Q1 session. With so many drivers jostling for position, a bizarre situation unfolded when Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi came together despite running at much-reduced speeds.
Latifi looked as though he thought the Aston Martin was on a hot lap behind him and shot out of the way. However, when Stroll had passed, he immediately slowed down, confusing Latifi, who wasn't sure why he gave up track position and attempted to reclaim his place. Now in front, Stroll drifted his car to the right, unaware Latifi was coming back at him, and the Canadian duo collided, leaving debris all over the track and causing the red flag of the session.
The woe for Williams wasn't over, either, as the team instructed Alex Albon to stop his car on track as he headed back to the pits after Q1 finished. A busy night awaits the British squad to fix both cars for the race.
The Aston Martin engineers are also working overtime this weekend. They used the red flag period to rebuild Sebastian Vettel's car after the German crashed in Free Practice 3. They also face fixing Stroll's car for the second time in one day as he, too, ended FP3 in the barriers just hours before his Latifi crash. The impacts of this messy day for the Silverstone-based team may hurt at the tail end of the season with the cost cap looming over them.
With championship rivals Leclerc and Verstappen on the front and a tight pack behind them, with Mclaren re-finding their speed to contest with Mercedes and Alpine looking fast, the drivers have set the stage for a great Australian Grand Prix.
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