Australian GP: George Russell Takes Pole As Cadillac Makes F1 Debut

 

As the new F1 season takes off in Australia, with Cadillac making its debut, Mercedes kicked off the season with a one-two podium finish, as George Russell claimed the pole, outpacing the defending champions, McLaren's Lando Norris, who missed out on the podium. 

The drivers had challenging weekend practice sessions in Melbourne. They had to get used to the track once again, particularly at Turn 1, where most drivers ran into the gravel and damaged their cars. Red Bull's Max Verstappen crashed out of the qualifying session in Q1 as a consequence. 

Russell pipped his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, to claim the pole in 1:18.518 seconds. Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar delivered his best performance at a Grand Prix qualifying session by outpacing Charles Leclerc to claim a podium position in third.  

Both McLaren drivers will make a backheel start. Oscar Piastri could not live up to his performance in the practise session, finishing in P5, and the defending champion, Lando Norris, followed behind the home favourite. 

Cadillac debutants Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas did not have the best start for the new racing team. The pair were unable to set their times in FP3 and finished at the bottom.    

See below for the list of the top 10 drivers

George Russell (Mercedes) 1:18.518s

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 

Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 

Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

Lando Norris (McLaren) 

Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 

Liam Lawson (Racing Bull) 

David Lindblad (Racing Bull) 

Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)