2023 Australian Grand Prix - FP3 and Qualifying

After an eventful Friday, it’s time for us to take a look at what went down in the FP3 and Qualifying sessions of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. Join Supercars.GH as we dive deep into everything that unfolded at the Albert Park circuit this Saturday.

Free Practice 3

FP3 seemed to be tricky for several drivers, with Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Zhou Guanyu all taking trips through the gravel traps. But, no one suffered as much as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who went off the track at multiple points and had a truly horrible session.

Alpine was on a role, with team newcomer Pierre Gasly going 5th fastest. However, he was bettered by Esteban Ocon who was third fastest as the flags fell. The French duo was split by the black arrow of George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton coming in at P8.

It was a familiar story at the top of the timing sheets, as Max Verstappen dialed in his RB19 to secure the fastest time of the session so far. He was closely followed by 2-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who is proving to be the closest rival to Verstappen this season.

Max Verstappen 1:17.565
Fernando Alonso 1:17.727
Esteban Ocon 1:17.938

Qualifying

Another qualifying session, another pole position for the reigning World Champion – Max Verstappen. It makes you wonder how he makes it look so easy!

However, it was a different story on the other side of the garage. Sergio Perez had to make an early exit during Q1, as he beached his car on the gravel. It seems that a cloud of bad luck is looming over the head of the Mexican driver this weekend. He will have to do the same thing as his teammate last weekend, which is clawing his way through the field if he wants a decent result.

Fernando Alonso did well to come in at P4, but he was eclipsed by the Mercedes pair of Russel and Hamilton. Hulkenberg had a barnstorming lap around one of his favorite circuits, bringing his Haas into Q3 in the process.

However, the Australian crowd was disappointed to see their hometown hero – rookie Oscar Piastri, get eliminated in Q1. The young driver would surely be hoping for a great performance to impress his countrymen tomorrow.

Max Verstappen 1:16.732
George Russell 1:16.968
Lewis Hamilton 1:17.104

Will Australia be just another chapter of Red Bull’s domination? Or will Mercedes make their way up the pecking order? Join Supercars.GH for the complete race review tomorrow and find out! Until then, visit our social media pages for more exciting F1 content.

The Albert Park circuit saw a major change, as the grid boxes have been widened by 20 cm in light of recent events. Another hot topic going into this weekend was that both Haas and Alfa Romeo would be swapping out their power units in place of new ones.

Ferrari has had a quiet season so far, but things looked promising this weekend. Charles Leclerc managed to secure the second-fastest lap of the evening, with Carlos Sainz coming in at P5. The Scuderia would be looking for a good result this weekend if they are to have any chance of tasting championship glory.

Fernando Alonso 1:18.887
Charles Leclerc 1:19.332
Max Verstappen 1:19.502

If these two sessions are anything to go by, we are in for an action-packed Grand Prix this Sunday. Tune in tomorrow for our coverage of FP3 and qualifying sessions, and don’t forget to check out our previous Formula 1 content.