(Melbourne) Max Verstappen has wings: Red Bull’s reigning two-time world champion secured his second lead of the season at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, as his team-mate Sergio Perez will start in last place .
For this third round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Dutchman will start ahead of the two Mercedes of the British George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, delighted after a successful third part of qualifying.
Verstappen was only 236 thousandths ahead of Russell, a smaller gap than expected, perhaps due to the fairly cool conditions in qualifying.
No smile, however, for the other Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, relegated to last position.
The Mexican went off the track in the first part of qualifying, symbolic of a catastrophic start to the weekend for the man who had taken the lead and won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks earlier.
Already during free practice on Saturday, he had experienced several exits due to braking problems, which once again proved fatal to him on Saturday.
“It’s still the same problem,” he cursed shortly after his mistake.
Verstappen, who is ahead of him by a small point, could therefore take the opportunity to soar in the driver standings on Sunday at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne (5.278 km).
The Dutchman has never won there and has only won one podium in 2019 (3rd). Last year he had to give up after his car engine caught fire.
In Melbourne, the 25-year-old has already claimed the 22nd lead of his career, equaling Spaniard Fernando Alonso, 16 years his senior. He is now approaching the Brazilian Nelson Piquet and the Austrian Niki Lauda who have 24.
The double world champion, winner of the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain, did not say he was yet in top form. In Jeddah, he suffered from stomach aches before and during the race, which did not prevent him from finishing 2nd after a fantastic comeback after starting 15th.
If Pérez does not imitate him on Sunday, this third Grand Prix of the season can therefore allow another team to finally break the total domination of Red Bull since the start of the season.
And so it could well be Mercedes. Russell and Hamilton confirmed the hopes left by the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where they finished 4th and 5th respectively.
“We didn’t expect this!” “, rejoiced Russell, [front row], almost “disappointed not to have the position of head”.
“We really showed potential and more to come,” warned the Briton as his “so happy” teammate Hamilton said he was aiming for “first place” with a smile.
On Sunday, Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) will start from the second row, while the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will start in 5th and 7th position respectively. Quebecer Lance Stroll will be sixth.
Disappointment on the other hand for Esteban Ocon (Alpine). After a good final practice session on Saturday, the Frenchman will start in 11th position after failing in Q2 by just seven thousandths of a second, while his compatriot and team-mate Pierre Gasly will be in 9th place on the grid, as in Jeddah. The local of the stage, the Australian Oscar Piastri, will start 16th.
Melbourne will then give way to a four-week cutoff after the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix. Sunday, Verstappen therefore has the opportunity to send a message to the competition from the start of a marathon season.