Summary

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna and Tasnim Chowdhury

  1. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

    It's a really consistent gap between George Russell and the rest, around about half a second.

    It's a lifetime in the old version of Formula One and right now we've got a larger spread because everything is so new and there is so much opportunity of figuring this out.

    The gaps will close, but they will also ebb and flow through the early part of this season.

  2. Norris to P2

    World champion Lando Norris is half a second away from leader George Russell but that's better from the McLaren driver to put his car on the front row alongside the Mercedes.

    Red Bull's Isack Hadjar is third, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is fourth and the secodn McLaren of Oscar Piastri is fifth, followed by seven-time world champin Lewis Hamilton.

    Kimi Antonelli, Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson are yet to set a time.

  3. Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    I have to say Kimi Antonelli has looked on the verge of an accident all session. He did have an accident earlier today.

    He's been wild and sliding around, he's been running wide in corners and he's just done it again here.

    He's got to keep it together for another eight minutes.

    Kimi AntonelliGetty Images

  4. There's eight minutes left on the clock in Melbourne and Kimi Antonelli is in the wars again. The teenager is running across the gravel after a twitch and that's his latest lap ruined.

    Meanwhile, his team-mate George Russell is just waiting for his battery to recharge before he goes for his flyer. It's a good one, as he sits on provisional pole with a 1:19.084.

    George RussellGetty Images

  5. The cars are lining up to get out of the pit lane to continue this pole positon fight but Lando Norris' McLaren front wing is being worked on after he ran over that debris.

    And now he joins the rest of the pack. Shall we try again?

  6. yellow flag

    Yellow flag

    Mercedes did a great job of getting Kimi Antonelli's car repaired so the Italian could take part in qualifying but now the stewards are going to be investigate the team for a release in an unsafe condition.

    "Difficult start to Q3. Kimi leaves the garage with a radiator fan still attached," says Mercedes. "The fan has come loose on track and Kimi has been noted for an unsafe release."

  7. Team radio - Norris

    "Just check, I hit a lot of debris."

  8. red flag

    Red flag - debris on track

    Kimi Antonelli has headed out on track but a cooling fan has fallen off his car halfway around the lap. Lando Norris has gone over it and smashed it to pieces and is now asking his pit wall to check his McLaren.

  9. 'Russell delivering pace consistently'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Live

    I think we can see clearly that George Russell is delivering pace every single time, he's doing it consistently.

    We've seen glimpses of Ferrari being very close at times over a single lap.

    Could we see Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton challenge that Mercedes at the front?

  10. Along with George Russell and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, the pole shootout features two Racing Bulls drivers, both McLarens, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton for Ferrari and one the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar. Gabriel Bortoleto did make it through but the Audi man won't be taking part in the session.

  11. Get Involved

    Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say

    Pete: WOW that Mercedes engine sounds wonderful, like a proper race car.. Go Team Russell.

    Jay: I think Russell will be far ahead but great from Hamilton and the Ferraris so far on the mediums, hopefully they can turn the wick up and get close.

  12. Go! Go! Go!

    Racing Bulls have two cars into the pole positon fight in Melbourne but Arvid Lindblad just narrowly avoided a collision with his team-mate Liam Lawson and the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto at the pit entry. The Briton was making his way in and had to swerve to avoid hitting Lawson and a slow-moving Bortoleto. That was a close call for the rookie.

    Right then. Off we go for the first pole position of the season!

  13. 'It's a matter of accumulating laps, keep learning and staying united'

    Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Melbourne

    BBC 5 Live's Jennie Gow speaking to Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso after getting knocked out of Q1: "Yes, I'm frustrated. The whole winter has been with that feeling that there is much more to come, especially on the chassis side.

    "We feel more that it's OK in the corners and we feel that we could be up there in the top 10 easily, and then we couldn't manage in winter to put some laps together.

    "Thanks to a more normal FP2 and FP3 here, we unlocked like two seconds today just because we ran, not because we invented anything last night.

    "It's a matter of accumulating laps and keep learning and stay united and together into this phase of the season."

    On having faith in Honda and Aston Martin: "We're one team, so we can't separate the two things, but there are no secrets that the main problem we have is the power unit.

    "We're down on power and we're down on reliability, we didn't manage to do many laps in winter and now we're short on stock and batteries, so we can't do too many laps in case we have no spare parts.

    "At the moment we need to fix the power unit. I think Aston is trying to help as much as they can to Honda, using a lot of resources from the chassis side to help the engine. We're all together on this."

  14. Out in Q2

    11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

    12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

    13. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

    14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    15. Alex Albon (Williams)

    16. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

  15. Leclerc up to P2

    Charles Leclerc has been near the top of the timesheets all weekend and now the Monegasque gets closest to leader George Russell - but his time is still over four tenths away from the Mercedes man.

    Arvid Lindblad is looking good for a place in the pole shootout on his debut qualifying in Formula 1. The Racing Bulls driver is in eighth, one place higher than team-mate Liam Lawson.

    And the pair have made it through!

  16. Drop zone

    11. Gabriel Bortoleto

    12. Esteban Ocon

    13. Pierre Gasly

    14. Oliver Bearman

    15. Alex Albon

    16. Franco Colapinto

  17. Nico HulkenbergGetty Images

    Nico Hulkenberg places his Audi into the top 10 in ninth place, as Lewis Hamilton slots into sixth with his latest flying lap.

    The TV cameras are following Max Verstappen as he makes his way back to the paddock. The Dutchman can only watch on now as his new Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar tries his luck at a decent grid spot for tomorrow.

  18. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

    Arvid Lindblad is really showing that he's best of the rest in that midfield running.

  19. Lewis Hamilton has headed into the garage for some TLC from his Ferrari mechanics. The seven-time world champion is in the elimination zone at the moment but there is loads of time left on the clock for him to climb the Q2 ladder and into the pole position fight.

  20. Piastri goes P2

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

    George Russell's time is a 1:18.934 and the next car to take a crack at the Mercedes man is Oscar Piastri. The McLaren is able to knock Kimi Antonelli down the order but he's still over six tenths away from Russell's best marker.

    Isack Hadjar is carrying the hopes of Red Bull now after Max Verstappen's Q1 crash and the Frenchman puts his car P4 on the timesheets, one place above world champion Lando Norris.