2018 Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix — Qualifying Results

The inaugural race weekend of the 2018 Formula One season is here. Fans tuning into the first qualifying session of the year will discover the pecking order continues unabated. That is to say, all the familiar faces remain in their usual positions.

Like last year, Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The Brit’s 73rd career pole position time of 1:21.164 is nothing short of commanding. Not only is it over one second faster than last year’s time, it sets the mood for tomorrow’s race. With seven pole positions under his belt in Melbourne, Hamilton and the Mercedes team looks as strong as ever.

Tomorrow’s starting grid looks much as it did in 2017, albeit with a little shuffling. Sitting behind Hamilton is Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, 0.664 seconds off the pace — a surprising change over last year’s results. Even more surprising is Kimi is only one-one hundredth of a second ahead of his teammate. If his position with Ferrari is in question as the rumors suggest, there’s no better way to kick the season off.

Taking third is the sister Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. While only 0.034 seconds behind Hamilton in the early stages of Q3, he was unable to put a lap together when it mattered. While nothing is ever set in stone, tomorrow’s race looks to be an interesting one. Raikkonen is in the best position to attack once the lights go out, whereas dirty air will likely hinder Vettel off the line.

At this point you may be wondering where the sister Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas ended up. Unfortunately, Bottas starts from 10th following his crash at Turn 2.

On his first flying lap, the Finn hit the inside curb of Turn 1, pushing him deeper into corner resulting in the left-rear wheel catching the wet grass. Attempting to hold it together, Bottos broke the rear loose and collided with the wall. The incident resulted in the first red flag of the year with a stranded W09 in the middle of Turn 2.

Following the crash, Mercedes confirmed the gearbox would need replacing. As a result, the Finnish driver moves down the order to 15th. Bottas has plenty of work ahead of him, but should get into the top 10 without much issue.

Max Verstappen is the first of the Red Bull drivers, taking fourth place behind Vettel. Were it not for an off at Turn 13, Verstappen looked to be in a position to challenge for top honors. Teammate Daniel Ricciardo tucks behind in fifth but has a three-place gird penalty for a red flag speeding offense.

The penalty drops him down to eighth, slotting in-between the factory Renault duo. There’s an upside for Red Bull and it lies in its tire strategy. While the rest of the field set their times on the ultrasoft tires, the Red Bulls start tomorrow’s race on the supersofts.

Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean sit on sixth and seventh, respectively. Both drivers delivered on the promising pace shown during the weekend. The American team continues to impress, kicking off its third season on the right foot. As a result of Ricciardo’s penalty, both drivers secure the third row.

Renault drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz qualified eighth and ninth. Red Bull’s Daniel Riccardo slots in between the two, pushing Hulkenberg to seventh. The German driver edged ahead of his teammate by almost half a tenth.

Fernando Alonso fell victim to relegation in Q2, failing to improve on an earlier time. Despite this, it was enough to place him ahead of teammate Stoffel Vandoorne. It’s still early days, but this year’s car looks more promising than last year’s MCL32. With Bottas moving into 15th, Alonso advances into the top ten and Vandoorne assumes 11th on the grid.

In a surprise upset, Force India qualified outside of the top ten for tomorrow’s race. Sergio Perez is the first of the duo, ending up in 13th. While one place ahead of Williams’ Lance Stroll, Perez states the team “has work to do”. Esteban Ocon qualified 15th in the second VJM11, half a second slower than Stroll.

Williams Rookie Sergey Sirotkin dropped out in Q1 and starts the race in 19th. Sirotkin placed ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly whose final attempt fell apart following an off through Turn 3.

Brendon Hartley starts 16th for the Toro Rosso-Honda outfit behind Valterri Bottas. Marcus Ericsson takes 17th for Sauber, less than a tenth ahead of Charles Leclerc. Ericsson’s rookie teammate had an error through Turn 4, costing him a shot at advancing into Q2.

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