July 4, 2024

Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri each gain a place after Red Bull’s second car drops back three on the Melbourne grid; watch the Australian GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 4am on Sunday morning

Sergio Perez has dropped from third to sixth on Sunday’s Australian GP grid after being penalised for blocking Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying.

McLaren’s Lando Norris is promoted to third, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes over fourth, and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri moves into fifth for his home Melbourne race ahead of the demoted Perez.

Perez’s Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen claimed pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Perez met with stewards after qualifying about the incident with Hulkenberg in Q1 and they subsequently ruled that the world champions’ pit wall had only warned their driver about the fast-oncoming Haas, which was on a hot lap whereas the Red Bull was on a slow one, “significantly too late”.

  • Australian GP qualifying report: Max Verstappen beats Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton 11th
  • When to watch Australian GP on Sky
  • Stream every F1 race with NOW Sports Month Membership
  • Get Sky Sports F1 | Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp

In their statement confirming the decision, stewards said: “Hulkenberg was on a fast lap when he approached turn 13. Perez, who was on an out lap was at the apex of the turn and Hulkenberg had to leave the racing line to drive around him.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *