McLaren Dominates Australian GP Qualifying with Norris-Piastri Front Row
Lando Norris secured pole position ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri in a dominant McLaren front-row lockout at the Australian Grand Prix, with a commanding 0.385s margin over the field.
Despite initial setbacks where Norris had his first lap deleted for track limits and Piastri ran wide at the penultimate corner, both McLaren drivers showed exceptional pace in their final runs. Piastri claimed provisional pole before Norris topped him by 0.084s.
Max Verstappen managed third place for Red Bull Racing, showing improvement after struggling with car handling in previous sessions. George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, 0.45s off the pace.
Notable performances included:
- Yuki Tsunoda: Impressive fifth place, 0.574s behind pole
- Alex Albon: Strong sixth position for Williams
- Ferrari disappointment: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only managed seventh and eighth
Qualifying highlights:
- McLaren dominated all three qualifying sessions
- Three rookies made their F1 qualifying debuts: Isack Hadjar (11th), Gabriel Bortoleto (15th), and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (16th)
- Oliver Bearman faced technical issues and qualified last after limited track time
Racing driver in yellow firesuit
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