Quali recap: Carlos fifth, Charles seventh

It rained earlier in Albert Park, but the track is dry now although the skies are cloudy. The ambient temperature is 15 degrees, the track is at 21.

Q1. Charles and Carlos go out on Soft tyres, but their first runs have to be aborted because of the red flag brought out by Sergio Perez going off track. The session resumes with nine minutes remaining. Leclerc laps in 1’18”815, Sainz in 1’18”347. They both keep going, getting down to 1’18”017 and 1’18”218 respectively. They do not improve on their final run but they have done enough to get through to the next session.

Q2. New Soft tyres for Charles and Carlos, the former lapping in 1’17”560 and the latter in 1’17”743 before improving to 1’17”676. The two SF-23s pit but are straight back on track with new tyres, posting times of 1’17”390 and 1’17”349 to make the cut to Q3.

Q3. Both drivers start the final part on new Soft tyres. Carlos sets times of 1’17”408 and 1’17”270 to secure fifth place. Charles manages a 1’17”535, followed by a 1’17”369, which puts him seventh fastest.