Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), pole man of the Australian Grand Prix: “It was a good lap. It’s even more fun because it’s a track we haven’t been to in a while and I’ve never felt very comfortable in the past. I was able to get some good laps in the free practice, but I didn’t get it all done and I did it in Q3.
I am very happy to start here in pole position. The car is really fun to drive, but the Red Bulls were good in the long stints. I’m quite surprised by our pace in qualifying, so I’ll wait until tomorrow (Sunday) impatient and hope to maintain this position in the race. †
Max Verstappen (second, Red Bull): “I didn’t feel good in this car all weekend, I lacked confidence, I suffered. Second isn’t bad of course, but I don’t feel good about hitting the limits. We will try to analyze that. Maybe in the race rhythm everything will have stabilized, but so far, this weekend, it’s been a bit of nonsense. I’m happy to be second, but as a team we want more. †
Sergio Perez (third, Red Bull): “In Q1 and Q2 it went well. Of course, the red flag always breaks the rhythm a bit. I wonder what strategy we had with the tires in Q3, but it’s good to start from there. We have a great race ahead of us, I hope we put on a great show for the spectators out there. The stands are already full on Saturday.
“I struggled with my car, I really struggled today to set this sixth fastest time. It was a difficult session for us, but we expected it”
George Russell (sixth, Mercedes): “It was a stampede, in every sense of the word! I was fighting on the track with the other drivers to clear the track to put in a good lap, I struggled with my car, I really fought today (Saturday) drawing for the sixth time. It was a difficult session for us, but we expected it. We’ve been aggressive with the set-up as many of the corners on this track are quite fast, but we still lack speed on the straights… Approaching Turn 13 I think I was four tenths slower than Norris, and I almost made it up in the end. It’s difficult, but we try to find the best compromise. Teams like McLaren and Red Bull don’t have porpoises, and that’s where we want to be. †
