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No damage done, and stewards decide not to take any action It's massive to see that it is possible to do it and in some ways we've moved forward form last year - not that much but I feel I've maximized it as much as possible and we still need to do a lot of work to maintain these Q3's, today isn't a one off. Charles Leclerc took pole position for the 2019 Formula One Austrian Grand Prix after finishing fastest in qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton pipped his Mercedes teammate by just one-tenth while Max Verstappen split the two Ferraris, with McLaren rookie Lando Norris also impressing in eighth in his first F1 qualifying sessionWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?

Bottas still had the second-quickest time, even as he waited on his car being fixed and took a precautionary trip to the medical centre.Leclerc was riding well on the softs, but the Monegasque nearly came unstuck when he went close to colliding with Alfa Romeo Racing's Meanwhile, neither Hamilton nor Vettel posted times while driving on the softs. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate?Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughtsPlease be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts"I'm shaking, what a beautiful day and thank you to the crowd for a great atmosphere,” Hamilton said. And the action should be just as hot on the track as well, with a soft-shod Ferrari and a medium-shod Red Bull and Mercedes set to wage battle. The Frenchman could only manage a disappointing 17th, ahead of the two Williams’ of George Russell and Robeert Kubica, with the former out-qualifying his teammate by 1.7 seconds after the returning Pole suffered a right-rear puncture when he kissed the wall at Turn 10. 20 hours ago. Ferrari to give Vettel new chassis for Spanish GP.

"The Q3 lap one was really good, I enjoyed that. Leclerc sauntered to the quickest time, with Gasly third-fastest behind the unfortunate Bottas.Bottas had a delayed start to the morning due to an oil leak:But he eventually got out on track and started an entertaining battle with Hulkenberg drew a red flag with four minutes to go. Yesterday, he was saying how he needed to claw back some ground on Hamilton in the next month or so.

20 hours ago. Featured Columnist June 28, 2019 Comments. But with potentially big issues to sort out for Vettel overnight, the Scuderia would doubtless be keeping their excitement over besting Mercedes under control for the moment – with a fascinating contest between the two squads and the fast-in-race-trim Red Bull lying in wait.“The car felt amazing actually.

Vettel filled third, but was more than six-tenths off the pace, with his new teammate Charles Leclerc a further two-tenths back.But Hamilton’s first lap was scrappy as he clouted the inside kerb in Turn One, and as he put in a tidy lap on his second and final outing, it was normal service resumed as the five-time world champion posted a 1:20.486s to overhaul Bottas, who despite improving was still +0.112s off the Briton.The concerns were obvious for Ferrari, with Vettel +0.704s slower than Hamilton’s pole position time, while teammate Leclerc was pushed down into fifth by the The drivers paid tribute to the late FIA race director Charlie Whiting, who died the the day before the new season started.A flyover opens the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.Bottas beat Hamilton into the first corner and never looked back.Home favourite Daniel Ricciardo went off within metres of the start.Bottas took the lead at the first corner and never relinquished it.Ricciardo had to pit at the end of the first lap with damage to his front wing.But the damage proved too much and Ricciardo retired soon after.Bottas went about building a healthy gap to Hamilton.Ferrari pitted Vettel in an attempt to fight back against Verstappen.The Mercedes driver was applauded into the pit lane after his victory.Bottas finished ahead of teammate Hamilton and Red Bull's Verstappen.Hamilton appeared happy with second despite missing out on victory.Verstappen was delighted to take third in Red Bull's first race with the Honda engine.Valtteri Bottas was not able to live with his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton early on as the reigning world champion topped the timesheets.Red Bull's Pierre Gasly was a surprise early elimination.Lewis Hamilton leads championship rival Sebastian Vettel.Christian Horner cut a concerned figure during qualifying as Red Bull struggled.Lando Norris fininshed a credible eighth in qualifying for McLaren.Lewis Hamilton celebrated taking pole position for the Australian Grand Prix in MelbourneValtteri Bottas speaks with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton after qualifying.Lewis Hamilton starts the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel.Melbourne's Albert Park hosts the first Grand Prix of the season.Lance Stroll got to grips with the new Racing Point outfit.The Red Bulls of Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen run in formation.George Russell pulls his Williams off the track with an issue.A Mercedes mechanic prepares for the arrival of one of their cars.Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton emerges to begin the session.Sebastaian Vettel takes to the grass as he misses his turn-in point for Turn One.But he wasn't the only one as Kimi Raikkonen also went off during practice.It proved to be a disappointing day for Renault as not only did home favourite Daniel Ricciardo miss out on Q3, but hiss teammate Nico Hulkenberg also failed to progress as the German will start 11th ahead of his Australian colleague in 12th.