Lewis Hamilton secures pole position in the Australian GP qualifying, with Twitter going crazy for the Brit champion
The Australian GP has finally kicked off in its true sense and the drivers are back in action for the new and improved 2019 season.
Qualifying in Australia is always important as it is the first time that the cars reveal their true pace on circuit, after playing a little poker in testing and in free practice in Australia.
Q1 went according to plan for almost all teams, except Red Bull, as Pierre Gasly was knocked out of Q1.
Q2 was full of action, as all the midfield teams were trying to stamp their supremacy over the grid.
Renault suffered a massive blow in Q2 as both Hulkenberg and Ricciardo got knocked out, with both Haas drivers going into Q3, just like last season.
Mercedes set the pace in Q2, locking in the front row, with the Ferrari pitwall left shaking their heads.
Q3 too started with Mercedes putting on a show, but this time it was Valtteri Bottas who set the pace, setting a 1:20:598 and answering his critics.
Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc slotted in behind him with the cars getting ready for a final shootout in Q3.
Max Verstappen hadn’t quite set the qualifying on fire, with Red Bull struggling a little for pace and performance.
In the final shootout, Lewis Hamilton put in a shift like no other, securing pole position with a mighty 1:20:498s.
Mercedes were close to a 0.5seconds faster than Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton securing his 6th consecutive pole position in Australia.
However, Mercedes would be hoping that raceday does not follow suit like the last two seasons, wherein despite qualifying in pole, Ferrari took the race win.
BREAKING: @LewisHamilton takes pole in Melbourne, edging out team-mate @ValtteriBottas in an absolute thriller! #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/l1xk46diUE
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2019
Well, the flags dropped and the bullshit has stopped, as expected Mercedes have not dropped the ball and remain the team to beat. Gonna be a storming season as Ferrari clearly close and tyre performance is going to be critical throughout.
— Matthew Somerfield Ⓕ① (@SomersF1) March 16, 2019
Just wait until Ferrari stops sandbagging tho. Then you'll see.
— Pablo Elizalde (@EliGP) March 16, 2019
At least Red Bull is close to Ferrari, so the battle for third should be good?
— Pablo Elizalde (@EliGP) March 16, 2019
Mercedes are pure bullshitters
Formula e is way closer than F1
In conclusion – watch formula e— soph (@sphbkr) March 16, 2019
How quick Mercedes say their car is in testing vs how quick it actually is #AusGP pic.twitter.com/xfyQdz6NuA
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) March 16, 2019
Max gets on the second row in Melbourne 💪 #Quali result #AusGP 🇦🇺🏁: HAM, BOT, VET, Max 👊, LEC, GRO, MAG, NOR, RAI, PER. (Pierre P17) #F1 pic.twitter.com/A0qDurmJ0o
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 16, 2019
BREAKING: NEW TRACK RECORD
An astonishing lap by @ValtteriBottas beats Hamilton's Q2 record by nearly half a second 👊
Bottas set an incredible 1:20.598s 😱 #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/fk4Jg5KFrI
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2019
You can say that Melbourne is a special track but Mercedes being almost 1s faster than the 2nd Ferrari (Leclerc) is hard to swallow#AusGP
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) March 16, 2019
That. Was. Tense! @LewisHamilton takes a stunning pole Down Under!#AusGP 🐨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/IJX617dqeE
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 16, 2019
Great job guys! 🏎🇺🇸🙌
P6 – @RGrosjean 1:21.826
P7 – @KevinMagnussen 1:22.099Let’s get racing Sunday now!!! pic.twitter.com/35VnJ0TeeY
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 16, 2019
Q3 comes to an end with @LandoNorris finishing in P8. Solid work from our rookie on his debut F1 weekend. #AusGP 🏁🤝 pic.twitter.com/J1KdV4OaaQ
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 16, 2019
P10 for @SChecoPerez on tomorrow's grid, with @lance_stroll in P16. All to play for in tomorrow's @ausgrandprix! #AusGP pic.twitter.com/ivCJOxduYl
— SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) March 16, 2019
Hamilton: “Mercedes are half a second slo…”#AusGP pic.twitter.com/vaCe8IBsuw
— Matt Gallagher (@MattyWTF1) March 16, 2019
Lewis Hamilton on pole! 🏁
A record-equalling eighth pole position at the same track.
🏎 1:20.486 #AusGP #bbcf1 LIVE 👉 https://t.co/tZ67U96DXJ pic.twitter.com/ixnLZSGeyt
— BBCF1 (@bbcf1) March 16, 2019
