It's time to bring you the latest important F1 headlines from Saturday as Max Verstappen takes pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was in his usual form at Albert Park, but Lewis Hamilton was troubled by the W15's 'inconsistency', a concern shared by Mercedes teammate George Russell. I haven't. Let's take a look at the action.
Lewis Hamilton completely defeated by amazing W15
Hamilton looked like he could be the dark horse for Australian Grand Prix pole, less than a tenth off his best pace in FP3. In the end, he didn't even make it to Q3.
Hamilton thus came to grips with the “inconsistency” of the Mercedes W15, which was “really upsetting”.
read more – Lewis Hamilton says 'inconsistency' in W15 'really messed with his mind' after Q2 loss
George Russell doesn't suffer from 'fluctuations' like Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes are not in the position they had hoped for early in the 2024 F1 season, but Russell had a stronger performance than Hamilton at Albert Park on Saturday. Even if seventh on the grid was the highest position he could manage.
Russell therefore extended his qualifying winning streak over Hamilton to five, but worryingly for Hamilton, Russell claims he has not felt any “fluctuations in confidence or performance” like his seven-time world champion teammate. did.
read more – About George Russell's statement regarding Lewis Hamilton W15 at the Australian Grand Prix
Toto Wolff admits Mercedes can't catch up with Red Bull…for now
Red Bull has strengthened its position as a dominant F1 team with the 2024 F1, but Mercedes cannot even be called Red Bull's closest challenger at this stage, and that tag has gone to Ferrari.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff remains optimistic that Red Bull is not an out-of-reach goal for the team, but admits it is “an illusion to get close to Red Bull in the short term”.
read more – Toto Wolff admits 'fantasy' that Mercedes will get closer to Red Bull after 'underwhelming' qualifying
Max Verstappen was scheduled to board the flight home in Logan Sargent's position
Only 19 cars will be running at the Australian Grand Prix, as Alex Albon was given the seat to teammate Logan Sargent's Williams after he withdrew himself from FP1.
And Verstappen said that in Sargent's situation he would have already caught his flight home, joking that he would have “flattened” his car first to stop his teammate from using it.
read more – Max Verstappen jokes he plans to 'flatten' his car and leave in Logan Sargent's position
Former tennis star injured in Fernando Alonso incident
During Friday's free practice, Alonso went off at Turn 10, sending his Aston Martin flying over gravel as it drove back onto the tarmac.
Former tennis world number four Jelena Dokic revealed on social media that a gravel hit her right eye and required treatment at Albert Park.
read more – Former tennis star Fernando Alonso injured eye in Australian GP accident
