18
08:37
Defect at Alex Albon
While the other drivers head back to the pits, Willams has to accept the next setback. Alex Albon parks his car at the edge of the track.
18
08:35
Q1 ended
Q1 is over! For Mick Schumacher, 15th place is enough to progress. Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, is eliminated in 18th place. Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen can’t move up into the top 15 either. Latifi and Stroll join the retired pilots after their crash. Verstappen set the best time.
18
08:33
Vettel makes it before time runs out
It’s all over for Sebastian Vettel and he crosses the line before the time is up. This gives him the chance to drive another fast lap. Hamilton and Russell don’t get through, but they didn’t push fully on the outlap either. Maybe you just wanted to check something.
17
08:32
Route reopened
The track is clear and everyone beyond the top 7 goes back on the track. The fight for the track positions then begins immediately, because it will be tight to make it over the line in order to be allowed to drive another lap.
16
08:31
Vettel drives out
It was enough! Sebastian Vettel steers the Aston Martin out of the garage and lines up behind the other cars at the pit lane exit. It won’t be long before Q1 restarts.
16
08:27
The first are already lining up
With just 2:01 left on the clock, many don’t want to be stuck in traffic on the Outlap. The first pilots are already lining up at the pit exit.
16
08:26
Restart at 8:31 a.m
There is a time to restart. Qualifying is scheduled to continue at 8:31 a.m. There is a lot of activity in the Vettel pits and everything is being tried to get the car ready to start.
16
08:22
Is it okay for Vettel?
The red flag means that Sebastian Vettel still has a minimal chance of getting the car finished after all. He already has his helmet ready.
16
08:18
That’s how the crash happened
The accident appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding. Latifi slowed to let Stroll pass. But when the Aston Martin wasn’t on a hot lap after all, Latifi wanted to pass again. Stroll didn’t see him, so he pulled over and touched. The result is tremendous damage to the Williams car. The entire left rear corner and the rear wing were destroyed and the front wing is gone too. An investigation is already underway.
16
08:18
Red flag
Of course there are immediately red flags! Nicholas Latifi has already given the all-clear, Lance Stroll can still drive a few meters before he has to park.
16
08:16
Accident by Nicholas Latifi
Violent accident of Nicholas Latifi! Looks like there was contact with Stroll.
14
08:15
Schumacher under pressure
Mick Schumacher is under pressure. The German is currently in 15th place and therefore in the risk zone of not making it into Q2.
13
08:14
Stroll drives out
Lance Stroll hesitated for a long time to take part, but now the Canadian drives out and does his outlap. Can he still do something in the direction of Q2? With Vettel, however, everything looks like he won’t be able to go out anymore.
12
08:13
Max Verstappen’s new best time in Q1
Max Verstappen marks a new best time in Q1. With a 1: 18.580 it passes Leclerc. Pérez also pushes past the Ferrari driver.
12
08:12
Vettel should run out of time
With Sebastian Vettel, the underbody is still not on the car. So it’s actually already clear that qualifying shouldn’t be the end of it.
11
08:11
Mercedes drivers jump into midfield
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton can improve and at least make it to midfield. Positions ten and eleven are recorded.
10
08:10
Who is currently eliminated?
The list of eliminated drivers does not yet give much. In addition to Nicholas Latifi, this currently consists of Mercedes, who have not yet set a fast lap, and the two Aston Martin drivers who are still in the pits and hoping to drive at all.
9
08:09
Verstappen is working his way up
Max Verstappen improves again and after a lap time of 1:18.925 minutes he is only 0.044 seconds short of Leclerc.
8th
08:08
Schumacher ahead of Magnussen
Mick Schumacher is currently in twelfth place in Q1 and, like in practice 3, has his team-mate under control. He was able to beat Magnussen by 0.3 seconds.
7
08:07
Charles Leclerc’s new best time in Q1
Charles Leclerc improved the best time again with a 1:18.881. For his part, Verstappen is currently in fourth place and is a good half a second behind. Vettel is still in the pits.
5
08:06
New best time by Carlos Sainz in Q1
Carlos Sainz sets a new best time in Q1. With a 1:19.179 he pushes past his teammate. A little later, Sergio Pérez crosses the line in the Red Bull. He was 0.123 seconds short of the best time.
4
08:05
Turner by Latifi
There are temporary yellow flags. Nicholas Latifi had spun at Turn 11.
4
08:04
Charles Leclerc’s new best time in Q1
Charles Leclerc marks a new best time in Q1 and that clearly. A 1:19.391 puts him over a second ahead of the competition.
3
08:03
First lap times are set
There are the first lap times. For now, Mick Schumacher leads the field with a 1:21.125. But that should only be a snapshot. Leclerc starts with two absolute sector best times.
2
08:01
It’s all about the fast laps
While the Red Bulls are on the track, the Ferrari competitors are just turning onto the fast lap. It won’t be long before the first times exist.
1
08:00
The first drivers are on the track
The first drivers are already on the track. Including Mick Schumacher in Haas. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel is still working on it. Incidentally, teammate Lance Stroll also crashed in the 3rd practice session. So twice the work at Aston Martin in terms of qualifying.
1
07:59
Start qualifying
The traffic lights are green, qualifying has started in Melbourne. The drivers now have 18 minutes to secure a place in Q2.
07:56
The conditions
The conditions in Melbourne are similar to those in 3rd practice earlier. The track temperature is 32 degrees, the air temperature is 23 degrees. The chance of rain is low.
07:52
Haas looks for the form
After Haas was able to get involved at the front in the first two races, the team in Australia has been struggling since the first practice session and hopes for Q3 suddenly seem marginal. Mick Schumacher was 14th in the last practice session, Magnussen was 17th.
07:47
Mercedes under pressure
After years of dominating the new era of Formula 1, Mercedes finds itself in an unfamiliar role. The team is currently far behind Ferrari and Red Bull. Hamilton was only tenth in Saudi Arabia and has so far been struggling with the still stubborn Mercedes. In Australia, too, there seems to be no sign of a trend reversal. In the 3rd practice session, both drivers were clearly struggling with the handling of the Mercedes and only Hamilton made it into the top ten in eighth place.
07:40
Best time for Norris in the 3rd practice session
Ferrari and Red Bull started the weekend as clear favorites and should be the teams battling for pole in qualifying. Lando Norris was able to surprise in the 3rd training session. The McLaren driver secured the best time in one of two red phases and 3rd practice session, which was riddled with many mistakes. Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez followed in second and third, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo in the second McLaren. Max Verstappen should be dissatisfied. The world champion struggled with balance and couldn’t improve on the soft. The result was seventh place with the medium.
07:35
Difficult comeback for Vettel
While the other drivers have already completed two race weekends this season, Australia will be the start of 2022 for Sebastian Vettel. A corona infection ensured that the first two races of the new season took place without the four-time world champion. So far, the return hasn’t gone according to plan. On Friday, Vettel missed the entire 2nd practice session after a defect, in the 3rd practice session the German then threw the car into the wall, lost important driving time again and now has to hope that the car can be repaired in the qualifying session.
07:30
Return to Melbourne
For the first time since 2019, the formula is back in Melbourne this year. After the long-standing opening race had to be paused for a long time due to the corona pandemic and the strict requirements of the Australian government, the drivers are now back Down Under. A lot has happened on the course during the break. The 5.275-kilometre circuit now has more full-throttle sections and wider corners, which should make overtaking easier.
Warm welcome!
After a three-year break, Formula 1 is back in Australia this year. Who will start from pole in the comeback race will be decided from 8:00 a.m.