Charles Leclerc Defeats Max Verstappen In The Race For Australian Grand Prix F1 Pole Position, Fifth Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc takes pole position in the Australian Grand Prix. (Photo: Twitter @F1)

JAKARTA – Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed pole position at the Formula 1 (F1) Australian Grand Prix. He secured his second pole of the year after being fastest in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, 9 April.

Leclerc, who won the season opener in Bahrain in March, clocked 1 minute 17.868 seconds. He beat Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen, who finished second with a difference of 0.286 seconds.

Leclerc's success gave Ferrari its first pole position in Melbourne since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

"It feels good. What's more, because it's a track that I always fight for as a rider. In Q3 (third qualifying), I managed to put it all together. It feels great. Tomorrow we just need to make a good start and hopefully we can keep pole position," Leclerc said.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, took third place, followed by Lando Norris who will start from the second row after finishing fourth in qualifying.

Completing the top five is Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, who had taken pole in the previous six races in Melbourne, finished 0.957 seconds behind Leclerc.

F1 this season has completed two series of races. Leclerc still leads the drivers' standings with 45 points, followed by Sainz on 33 and Verstappen, who won in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, on 25.

Australian GP F1 qualifying results:

Big 5

Charles Leclerc 1:17,868 Max Verstappen 1:18,154 Sergio Perez 1:18,240 Lando Norris 1:18,703 Lewis Hamilton 1:18,825