Australian Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

The first qualifying session under a brand-new set of regulations was finally the opportunity to see the full 22-car field in competitive action after three practice sessions to start the weekend. Q1, the opening knockout stage saw Ocon and Bearman utilize two sets of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. Ocon graduated into Q2 courtesy of a best lap of 1:20.759 (P11) – set on the Frenchman’s second set, while Bearman’s fastest effort, a 1:21.247 (P16), was delivered on his opening run of the session.

In Q2 Bearman’s fastest lap came on a second set of fresh softs – the British racer clocking a 1:20.311 for P12 on the timesheets. Ocon’s quickest time, a 1:20.491, was his first hot lap on new softs – good for P13 directly behind his teammate – both drivers exiting qualifying with only the top 10 graduating into Q3.

Mercedes subsequently locked out the front row of the grid for Sunday’s 58-lap race with George Russell (1:18.518) securing pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli (1:18.811).

Ollie Bearman:

“I’m a bit disappointed as there were such fine margins, but overall I have to say I’m so proud of the team and the collective effort that has been made to get the car to where it is today. It confirms our feelings from Bahrain, which is that we have a solid baseline, and that’s positive. It’s tough and it hurts to miss out, but with the complexities of these new regulations, we’re really up against it. The job this team has done has been incredible, and the only way is forward from here.”

Esteban Ocon:

“It’s disappointing, I think we definitely had more to give. When I got out of the car, the team told me that there was a potential loss of rear downforce and that correlated with what I felt, as I had a lot of instability on the last run. If we had improved the final run, then we could have probably just gotten into Q3, so it’s a shame where we are now, but we’ll look into it and hopefully come back stronger.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“I think it was a solid qualifying session. Did we maximize everything? No, but I expected a huge challenge operationally, and we didn’t get everything right, but we operated at a decent level – so I’m pleased with that. First and foremost, we wanted to make sure we got out of Q1 with both cars, which we achieved. I think we had the chance to get into Q3 for sure, and it’s really nice that we’re very close to the top of the midfield, that’s where we want to be. We continue to learn every session, we’re just still trying to find the best combination of preparing the tires and preparing the energy, so there’s more to come. Considering it’s the first qualifying session of the year, I think it’s something we can build on from here. It’s a decent place for tomorrow’s race, so I’m looking forward to moving forward from there.”