Verstappen takes pole position for F1 Australian GP, resurgent Carlos Sainz also in front row

Max Verstappen not surprisingly clinched pole position for Sun‐ day's Australian Grand Prix. More surprising was record eight‐time Australian pole win‐ ner Lewis Hamilton not making it into the final round of qualify‐ ing on Saturday.

Verstappen, who has won both races to start the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez second both times, will start in the front row for Sun‐ day's 58‐lap race on the tempo‐ rary Albert Park street circuit.

It was the 35th pole of Verstap‐ pen's F1 career.

Carlos Sainz, returning from appendix surgery ahead of the last race in Saudi Arabia, was second‐fastest, followed by Perez in third.

"It was a bit unexpected but I'm very happy," Verstappen said. "It's been a bit of a tricky week‐ end so far. (Ferrari) seem very quick, so it's a bit of a question mark for tomorrow."

"Even throughout qualifying, Q1, Q2, I didn't really feel like (I was) fighting for pole. Then we made some little tickles on the car and that seemed to help me in Q3 to really push it to the limit; both of my laps I was quite happy with it."

The biggest surprise of the day was Mercedes driver Hamilton. He failed to advance from the second qualifying session, finish‐ ing 11th. It was his worst quali‐ fying position at the Australian Grand Prix since 2010.

"The inconsistency within the car — it really messes with the mind," the seven‐time world champion said, citing the after‐ noon wind as a problem.

"Our car is on a bit of a knife edge. When the wind picks up the car becomes a lot more un‐ stable. But the others seem to (be able to) pick their pace up in qualifying, I'm not sure why. It's not a great feeling for everyone in the team, but we'll just keep working away."

Ferrari's performance here could have been compromised after Sainz declared he was ready to return to the cockpit, but not feeling 100% after sur‐ gery for appendicitis ahead of the last race in Saudi Arabia.

But the Spanish driver, who is out of contract at the end of the season, rebounded from a hospi‐ tal bed a few weeks ago to the front row of the grid in Australia this weekend.

"It's been a tough couple of weeks, so to make it to this weekend I'm very happy," Sainz said. "I was a bit rusty at the be‐ ginning but I got up to speed and I'm feeling good in the car."

Sainz said he was still feeling the effects of the surgery.

"I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state, but i can get it done," he said. "Obviously, a lot of discomfort and weird feelings, but no pain, so it allows me to push."

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in the first quali‐ fying session for the first time at Albert Park after his fastest lap was deleted by stewards. Riccia‐ rdo surged into the top‐10 near the end of the session and seemed certain to continue his impressive record of never qual‐ ifying lower than 15th in Mel‐ bourne.

But the 34‐year‐old Ricciardo was deemed to have exceeded track limits and was pushed back to start from 18th place in his first GP on home soil since 2022.

Alex Albon qualified 12th, re‐ paying some of the faith shown from Williams after the British‐ born Thai driver sat in teammate Logan Sargeant's car. Albon's ve‐ hicle sustained extensive dam‐ age after he crashed into a wall during practice on Friday, with American driver Sargeant step‐ ping aside for the rest of the weekend.

It was already an eventful week ahead of Saturday's qualifying. FIA's Ethics Committee had cleared its president, Mo‐ hammed Ben Sulayem, from "in‐ terference of any kind" at two F1 events last year was followed quickly by a social media post from Susie Wolff, who is director of the all‐female series F1 Acad‐ emy and also married to Mer‐ cedes F1 boss Toto Wolff, announcing that she had filed a criminal complaint in the French courts against the sport's gov‐ erning body for statements made about her in December.

It was all against the backdrop of ongoing furor surrounding Red Bull Racing and its team principal Christian Horner.

McLaren Racing extends Zak Brown's contract as CEO through 2030

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown said Friday he's signed an extension to remain in charge of the organization through 2030.

Brown made the announce‐ ment on social media . He has been CEO since 2018 and the American oversees all of McLaren's racing programs from its England‐based headquarters.

McLaren later confirmed the contract extension at the Aus‐ tralian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

"It's a privilege to work along‐ side the talented men and women across McLaren Racing's different race series," Brown wrote. "Together, with our peo‐ ple, our fans, and our partners, we will continue to push the boundaries of motorsport and strive for the highest perform‐ ance on and off the track."

McLaren is the only team that competes in Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E and es‐ ports. The F1 team fields cars for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are both under long‐term contracts. The IndyCar team fields cars for Pato O'Ward, Alexander Rossi and David Malukas, although Malukas is in‐ jured and Callum Ilott has been his replacement driver for the first two IndyCar races.

Brown closed his statement noting "as CEO, and as a McLaren fan, I want what you want, to win. Let's keep pushing."