Charles Leclerc signs an authoritarian pole in Melbourne

And 11 for Charles Leclerc ! Facing the setting sun of Melbourne, the Monegasque signed his second pole position of the season after that obtained in Bahrain. Thanks to a final, high-quality lap, the driver Ferrari stuck almost three tenths to Max Verstappen and will set off just in front of the duo of pilots Red Bull, this Sunday, during the race (7 a.m. French time). Please note, however, that Sergio Perez is under investigation for failing to slow down under a yellow flag. 

At the start, this Sunday, Charles Leclerc will not be able to count on the support of his teammate Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard could not do better than 9th in Q3. The Iberian apparently had all the difficulties in the world to warm up his rubber and will have to make do with a soft stomach after two good qualifications. 

McLaren's awakening 

The big surprise, however, came from McLaren. Nowhere in Bahrain but on the upward slope in Jeddah, the Woking team has made a spectacular turnaround with its top driver Lando Norris. The Briton simply set the 4th fastest time in qualifying, when the local hero Daniel Ricciardo finished in 7th position. The two men will only be separated on the grid by the two drivers Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton (5th) and George Russell (6th). 

Huge disappointment on the other hand for Fernando Alonso. Extremely fast since the start of the weekend, the Spaniard experienced hydraulic problems at the very start of Q3. A problem occurred at turn 11 which caused him to lose the car and hit the wall. An infuriating state of affairs, obviously, while the Bull of Asturias seemed to be able to fight for the leading positions (he was ahead of Leclerc during his first Q3 run). He will ultimately start 10th. The disappointment is also great for Alpine, who will still start 8th with Esteban Ocon.

Eliminated in Q2, Valtteri Bottas failed to make it past Q1 for the first time in 103 Grands Prix. The Finn will start in 12th position, just behind the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri), who missed Q1 by 90 thousandths. Note that qualifying was marked by a major incident that occurred in Q1 between the two Canadians on the grid. Two minutes from the end of Q1, Lance stroll (Aston Martin) actually hit his compatriot Nicholas latifi (Williams) who overtook him, while neither of them was on a flying lap. Both men are also eliminated.

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