F1 Australian Grand Prix qualifying

Follow along as the first qualifying session of the 2025 F1 season unfolds

The first qualifying session of the 2025 Formula 1 season is here, and it is all to play for at the Australian Grand Prix.

Saturday’s third practice session saw hometown hero Oscar Piastri top the timing sheets, as lap times tumbled throughout the hour-long session as teams and drivers put in more simulated qualifying runs. However, Piastri is not the only driver to watch as qualifying begins. Mercedes driver George Russell was just 0.039 seconds off Piastri’s pace, and Max Verstappen was just 0.081 seconds behind in third.

But several other drivers are in the mix. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton showed improved pace on Saturday, and Russell’s new teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fifth in FP3. The Williams pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon finished sixth and seventh respectively — and showed true race pace earlier in the session with some laps on the hard compound — and Lando Norris was on a blistering lap at one point before bailing out in the final sector. Norris finished in P10 but those first two sectors certainly caught the eyes of many in the paddock.

Follow along live as we break down the first qualifying session of the 2025 F1 season.

All times are in Eastern.

F1 Australian Grand Prix Q1 Results

1:17: Lawson finds the grass at Turn 9 and is headed to the pits, he will be eliminated in Q1 along with Bearman, who has not left the garage given his gearbox issue.

1:15: With three minutes left in Q1 the five drivers in the drop zone are Gasly, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Ocon, and Bearman. Those in danger of elimination include Isack Hadjar in P11, Jack Doohan in P12, Yuki Tsunoda in P13, Antonelli in P15, and Gabriel Bortoleto in P15.

1:13 Replays show Liam Lawson take a quick detour through the gravel, but the Red Bull driver manages to avoid the wall on his journey.

1:10 Russell goes into P4, but he posts that on the medium compound. Mercedes has both him and Antonelli out on the medium tires to start Q1.

1:08: With ten minutes left in FP1 Norris is atop the board, followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso.

1:06 Lando Norris goes to the top of the timing sheets with just under 12 minutes left in Q1.

1:01 Bearman just reported that he has a problem with his gearbox and he peels into the pits.

1:00 We have a green light in Melbourne and Q1 is underway. Perhaps unsurprisingly Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman — who crashed in both FP1 (which caused him to miss FP2) and FP3 — were the first two off pit lane.