Verstappen takes Australian Grand Prix pole position - reaction

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The man to beat, plain and simple.

Post-surgery Carlos Sainz is tasked with sharing the front row with Max Verstappen and trying to stop the dominate Red Bull driver from taking another race victory.

We get a teeny-tiny lie-in tomorrow, as the Australian Grand Prix gets under way at 04:00 GMT. Full commentary of the race will be on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sounds app.

A full Saturday ahead of us. Enjoy!

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There must be lots of questions you want to ask BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson about the weekend in Melbourne so far, so send your questions through for our F1 Q&A via the link here

Charles Leclerc has spoken to Sky Sports and said pole position was not on the cards. "I just didn't feel the right rhythm today for some reason," the Ferrari driver added. "There was already something from FP3 I could feel but I thought myself I would find the confidence again in qualifying, which most of the time, that works, but today it didn't."

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Lewis Hamilton, who concluded qualifying in P11 speaking to Sky Sports: "We get into qualifying and the inconsistencies within the car it really messes with the mind. George did a good job today. It is what it is. I just have to try do a better job tomorrow.

On what the car is missing: There's a long list. Our car is on a bit of a knife edge. In the afternoon here, the wind picks up, same as in FP2 and in FP1 it was better. When the wind picks up the car becomes a lot more unstable and then this morning it was nice with calmer winds, but as soon as the wind picked up the car it gets little more unstable."

"The others seemed to pick their pace up in qualifying I'm not sure why, it didn’t feel the same in qualifying even though we had lighter fuel, it felt better in FP3. It's not a great feeling, but we’ll keep cracking away."

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If you're just joining us, good morning! The big headline from qualifying is Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2v and will start tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix 11th on the grid.

"This inconsistency within the car, it really messes with the mind," the Mercedes man tells Sky Sports.

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Jennie Gow, Jolyon Palmer, Harry Benjamin and Bec Clancy look ahead to the Australian Grand Prix. They hear from Ferrari’s Saudi super-sub Oliver Bearman, analyse Mercedes’ poor start to the season and discuss whether the local fans will be seeing a home favourite on the podium at Albert Park.

Listen on BBC Sounds here

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Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who qualified in P3: "My first sector was not great especially in Turn 1 in my final attempt, but I am happy given how we have been this weekend. I think it's been a really nice progression. I think tomorrow we’ve got a fight on our hands with Ferrari and the rest of the field. I think the degradation is going to be very high, so starting positions is not that relevant at the moment."

On his straight-line speed advantage against Ferrari: "We will find out tomorrow. We have changed our strategy a bit for tomorrow so let's see who can survive the most on the degradation side."

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who will start P2 on the grid: "It's been a journey. It's been a tough couple of weeks; a lot of days in bed to see if I could be in this moment today. To put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it - especially after how tough it has been.

"But I'm very happy to be here. Very happy to be challenging the Red Bulls this weekend. I was a bit rusty at the beginning yesterday but then I got up to speed, then I finally found the pace and feeling good with the car.

On how he is feeling following his surgery: "I'm not going to lie, I'm not in my most comfortable state when I'm driving out there but I can get it done. And as far as I can get it done without the pain; obviously a lot of discomfort and weird feelings but no pain allows me to push flat out."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who secures his third consecutive pole position: "A bit unexpected today from qualifying, but happy with Q3. Both laps felt nice and enjoyable. It was a tricky weekend, but we managed to get to the end so happy with that. They [Ferrari] seemed very quick in the long runs so it is a bit of a question mark for tomorrow, but I guess that makes it very exciting so we’ll find out tomorrow."

If Max Verstappen is aiming for his 10th consecutive victory tomorrow. Could we see the Dutchman secure every race win this season?

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What an achievement for Carlos Sainz. Stuck in his hospital bed two weeks ago watching the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying unfold, he is now back in the car and putting the Ferrari on the front row.

Sainz tells Alex Brundle, who is doing the post-qualifying interviews, that he has some "discomfort" and "weird feelings" but hey. No pain, no gain I suppose.

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That was not the picture I was expecting, but the fact Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc weren’t able to get really anywhere near him [Verstappen]. Sainz had a decent lap, so did Sergio perez, but Leclerc was nowhere near when it mattered.

11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

12. Alex Albon (Williams)

13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

18. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)

19. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

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1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:15.915

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

4. Lando Norris (McLaren)

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. George Russell (Mercedes)

8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

Charles Leclerc had to throw the towel in for his final lap, telling his pit wall the Ferrari was "really difficult to drive" and he "didn't know why".

Sergio Perez ends up on the second row in third place. Charles Leclerc, so quick in practice, stays in fifth spot, as he pita at the end of his lap.

That was disappointing from Sergio Perez, four-tenths off his team-mate and the first part of the lap and the middle part of that lap looked really good. This is about finding out where you can push and where you can’t. As I said the circuit is continuously evolving.

Max Verstappen is purple in the first sector but Carlos Sainz matches it on his final flying lap. Which driver will take that top spot? It's Verstappen! The Dutchman clocks a 1:15.915.