Hamilton on pole in Melbourne, Ferrari pushed back to 0,7s

So they were really bluffing. After having suggested all winter that its new W10 was not at the level of Ferrari SF90, the stable Mercedes strikes a big blow during the first qualifying sessions of the 2019 season by locking the top of the grid. 

Leading his teammate by almost half a second Valtteri Bottas before the last attempts launched in Q3, Lewis Hamilton once again pulls out a hell of a lap from behind the fagots to snatch the 84th pole position of his career, the 6th in a row in Australia. 

In the Ferrari camp, we can only see the damage since Sebastian Vettel certainly finished 3rd but more than seven tenths from the reference established by the Flèche d'Argent at the top. His new teammate Charles Leclerc must be satisfied with 5th place because Max Verstappen managed to hoist his Red Bull Honda engine between the two scarlet single-seaters from Maranello. 

Very good overall performance for Haas, who sees Romain Grosjean et Kevin Magnussen place the VF-19s in the 6th and 7th ranks. Excellent service also for Lando Norris. The rookie of McLaren invites itself into Q3 for its first weekend in F1. He will be 8th on the grid and will be ahead of the Alfa of the indestructible Kimi Räikkönen and the Racing Point of Sergio Pérez. 

Disappointment on the other hand for Renault whose two drivers stop in Q2, and a little surprise for the Yellows since Nico Hulkenberg precedes the new recruit Daniel Ricciardo. For his Grand Prix debut, Alexander albon, 13th, got the better of his experienced teammate Daniil Kvyat, 15th. Between the two Toro Rosso slips inAlfa Romeo by Antonio Giovinazzi. 

The big surprise of Q1 came from the elimination of Pierre Gasly at the end of an extremely tight session. The new Red Bull driver, who completed only one flying lap during the opening phase of qualifying, is accompanied in the cart by Lance stroll (RacingPoint), Carlos Sainz (McLaren), and both Williams by George Russell and Robert Kubica. For his first qualifying session since the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Pole is 1,7s behind his young British teammate. 

Q3: Full classification

Big things from @Max33Verstappen taking Red Bull-Honda to the second row

Duck @LandoNorris is the fastest Renault-powered car on his first F1 qualifying #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/LXcNo02yAU

- Formula 1 (@ F1) March 16, 2019

If the winter tests in Barcelona had suggested that a new wind would blow through F1 from Melbourne, the qualifying verdict clearly places Mercedes and Hamilton as favorites for the race. You will be able to follow the Australian Grand Prix live with commentary via our live text on CARhebdo.fr.