Melbourne (AP) – With the perfect lap at the perfect moment, Formula 1 leader Charles Leclerc secured first place on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver from Monaco snatched pole position from world champion Max Verstappen at the last minute in Melbourne on Saturday and is starting from the front for the second time this year. “I got everything together today, it felt really great,” said the 24-year-old Leclerc, who is also the favorite in the third race of the season on Sunday (7:00 a.m. CEST / Sky) Down Under.
The Monegasque drove by far the fastest lap at Albert Park in 1:17.868 minutes and edged out defending champion Verstappen in the Red Bull by 0.286 seconds. “I haven’t felt that good in the car all weekend,” said the Dutchman. Verstappen’s Mexican team-mate Sergio Perez was close behind in third place. While another duel between Ferrari and Red Bull is looming, record world champion Lewis Hamilton managed to finish fifth in the Mercedes, which was still too weak.
Vettel: “We’ll see what’s going on in the race”
After surviving the coronavirus infection, Sebastian Vettel was eliminated in the first of three sections and had to settle for 18th. An accident that hit the barriers during the last practice session meant that the four-time world champion was only able to do one fast lap. Vettel’s Aston Martin team only managed to get the car roadworthy again at the last second.
“It was a miracle that we got out at all,” said Vettel on Sky and spoke of a “great example of teamwork”. The 34-year-old expressly thanked his mechanics for having his destroyed car repaired. “I didn’t expect it,” said Vettel. The former champion couldn’t do much. “It’s not an easy weekend. But we’ll see what’s going on in the race,” emphasized the Hessian: “We have our problems, that won’t change overnight.”
For Vettel, the crash hours earlier in training was the continuation of a difficult trip to Australia. On Friday he had already missed the second practice session completely after suffering an engine failure in the first session. The Heppenheimer missed the first two races of the year due to a coronavirus infection and is only starting the season late in Melbourne. On Saturday he was also penalized for speeding in the pit lane. His racing team has to pay 600 euros to the world association for this.
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Schumacher: “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for more”
Mick Schumacher finished 15th in the Haas racing car. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for more. But we gave everything,” said the 23-year-old. Schumacher was absent from qualifying at the last Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia after a serious accident. In Australia, the son of record world champion Michael Schumacher would like to score points for the first time in his career. “The goal is definitely to finish in the points and show a clean race,” said Schumacher, giving the top ten as his goal.
The time hunt was quite turbulent. In the first run, Vettel’s teammate Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi from Williams collided violently. The two Canadians destroyed their cars in the crash after a misunderstanding and could not continue.
Vettel’s mechanics were only able to make the veteran’s car drivable by interrupting the clean-up work. Another break was necessary after ex-world champion Fernando Alonso flew off the track shortly before the end. The Spaniard had a good chance of a place up front in his Alpine car, but lost control at a crucial moment and crashed into the boundary.