Australian Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Q1’s knockout session featured Magnussen and Hulkenberg utilizing two brand new sets of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. Magnussen banked a 1:17.874 to start with Hulkenberg logging a 1:17.992 before both VF-24s returned to the garage for their second sets. Magnussen bettered his earlier lap as the track continued to evolve – the Dane pushing through into Q2 delivering a 1:17.709 lap for P15. Hulkenberg just missed out on extending his afternoon session – the German’s best effort of 1:17.976 placing P16.

Magnussen started his Q2 outing on a set of used softs – a 1:17.646 lap time the result. With a new set of softs bolted on Magnussen subsequently went faster in his VF-24, a 1:17.437 charge good for P14 at the Q2 checkered.

The battle for pole position in Q3 proved intense with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen eventually capturing the top spot courtesy of 1:15.915 ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on a 1:16.185.

Nico Hulkenberg:

“I got held up on my first run by Perez which wasn’t ideal, and then my second lap wasn’t clean. The lap was looking promising until the exit of Turn 7 when the wind changed and I lost a bunch of time just from that different wind direction. I then lost the front tires for the rest of the lap and didn’t manage to improve enough. We’re all very close in the midfield so we’ll see, but the graining we’ve seen this weekend maybe offers some interesting options and potential tomorrow, so either way I’m looking forward to it.”

 

Kevin Magnussen:

“There were some good laps in qualifying today so I think that’s about where we are with the car, in qualifying at least. P14, it’s still within reach of the top 10 and I think we just have to have a clean race and hope that tire degradation is on our side tomorrow. Degradation seemed okay, it’s whether our outright race pace is good enough, which is the bigger question. Hopefully we can tune it up for points as that’s what we’re here for.”

 

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“It was a pretty tough qualifying. We struggle in high-speed, which we did, but also a couple of other corners like Turn 1 and 11 we struggled as well. The car is consistent but lacking overall grip, so I think the direction we need to develop the car is reasonably clear but unfortunately at this track with the balance indications, it just exposed our weakness a bit more.”

 

Today's Data

Event: Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix – Saturday March 23
Location: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit – Albert Park, Melbourne
Layout: 5.279-kilometer (3.280-mile), 14-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Kevin Magnussen qualified 14^th, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 16^th 

 

Free Practice 3 (FP3) Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 16^th overall (1:17.941), 17 laps
Magnussen: 17^th overall (1:17.961), 18 laps
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:16.714)

 

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all Drivers – Top 15 Advance to Q2

Magnussen: 14^th overall (1:17.709) – Advanced to Q2
Hulkenberg: 16^th overall (1:17.976)
Fastest: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:16.731)

 

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 Advance to Q3

Magnussen: 14^th overall (1:17.427)
Fastest: Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari (1:16.189) 

 

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins – Top 10 Drivers

Pole Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:15.915)