FERRARI FAILED, MAX ON POLE AGAIN

Max Verstappen brought out his full talent in the final Q3 session for the Australian Grand Prix and scored his 35th Formula 1 pole position.

The Dutchman was not fastest in either practice session and was beaten by Carlos Sainz Jr. in Q1 and Q2, but the Spaniard failed to get the most out of his Ferrari in the final segment, where Max added a new pole position to his name with a spectacular time.

However, it can be said that this is a great achievement for Carlos Sainz Jr., placing car on the first starting row less than two weeks after the operation in Jeddah, while beating Sergio Perez, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, who could not do more than P5. The man from Monaco makes mistakes again under pressure, when it is most important to show good results.

Fernando Alonso looked to be on pace to challenge George Russell for seventh, but in the first attempt in Q3 he went off the track and damaged the floor of his car, so he had to settle for tenth, just behind Lance Stroll.

The stewards of the Australian Grand Prix issued a penalty in the form of a REPRIMAND (Driving) to Pierre Gasly, because the Frenchman in the first part of the qualification, crossed the yellow line (on most tracks it is white) at pit exit.

The stewards noted that Gasly's maneuver did not pose a danger to anyone, so a reprimand is the standard penalty for such offences. This is his first reprimand (driving) for this season.

Sergio Perez, on the other hand, will drop three places at the start of the Australian Grand Prix. The Mexican was penalized for impending Nico Hulkenberg in the Q1 qualifying session.

Considering the circumstances of the incident, the stewards came to the conclusion that Hulkenberg had to go off the optimal racing line to avoid Perez and apply the brakes earlier than usual.

The stewards added that Red Bull warned its driver too late that Nico was approaching, as the team's attention was focused on the car in front.

Thus, Sergio Perez will start sixth in Sunday's race, behind Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastre.

Zhou Guanyu will start Sunday's race from the pit lane. In qualifying, the Sauber driver damaged his front wing on the curbs beside the 10th corner. The team does not have a spare front wing with the same specification, so a wing with other specifications will be used as a replacement.

The replacement of damaged parts with new ones with different specifications is considered a violation of the "parc ferme" regime and entails a penalty, starting from the pit line.

The Chinese will not lose much, because he secured the last starting position. The official confirmation of the penalty by the FIA is expected a few hours before the start of the race, at 05:00 Central European Time.

In the Q1 session, all drivers were on red tires. In the first attempt, Leclerc had the fastest time, and Pierre Gasly crossed the yellow line as he exited the pit lane. The stewards reviewed the incident after qualifying and the Frenchman was reprimanded.

During the second fast laps, Alonso was faster at first, then Sainz Jr. beat Leclerc's time, and his result remained the best.

Hulkenberg, Gasly, Ricciardo and Zhou, who damaged the front wing, dropped out of the further fight. The Australian had a lap to advance, but went off track and the lap was deleted.

In the Q2 session, the fight again took place on the red tires. In the first attempt, Verstappen was at the top of the table, while in the second attempts, Sainz Jr. beat the Dutchman with a time that no one could beat until the end of the segment.

Hamilton, Albon, Bottas, Magnussen and Ocon did not place in the top ten drivers.

After two segments we hoped that Red Bull could be defeated, at least in qualifying, it was time for the final shootout, which defines the starting order of the fastest drivers.

Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren came out for their first attempt with new set of the red tires, the rest with used ones.

Already in the first fast lap, surprise! Verstappen set an outstanding time and beat Sainz Jr. by two tenths, Leclerc by three tenths and Perez by four tenths. Norris was fifth, ahead of Piastri, Russell and Tsunoda. Alonso made a mistake in turn 6 and did not complete the lap. Stroll decided to wait.

In the drivers' second attempts, Max Verstappen was even faster, not allowing his rivals to even think about pole position. Carlos Sainz Jr. managed to beat Sergio Perez and was second, but the Dutchman was outstanding and unreachable.

Charles Leclerc made a mistake in the third sector of the last fast lap and finished fifth, losing one position to Lando Norris. Piastre was sixth, ahead of Russell, Tsunoda, Stroll and Alonso who had damage to his AMR24 after a trackside gravel excursion.

On Friday, not everyone could find the best settings for the Albert Park circuit, so they still had Saturday's practice for that. The asphalt was cooler because of the cloudy sky.

Many drivers tried the white tires for the first time this weekend, appreciating their racing potential. Alex Albon, who destroyed his car in the first practice, sat in Logan Sargent's car, whom Williams was forced to "send" to the audience, because the Thai has much better chances for a better classification.

Saturday's practice went without problems, and Charles Leclair had the fastest time. All this pointed to a good performance by Ferrari in qualifying, but when it was most needed, their drivers failed.