- McLaren took the 1-2 double at Albert Park
- No Australian has won home GP in 40 years
- Piastri well placed to break that duck
Hometown hero Oscar Piastri will start the Australian Formula Grand Prix from second after being pipped for a historic pole by McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The record crowd of 136,347 in Melbourne roared when Piastri went to the top of the times with just seconds remaining in qualifying.
But Norris, who had an earlier lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, almost immediately went faster than Piastri to complete a McLaren one-two.
It means the wait for an Australian pole at Albert Park continues, with Mark Webber or Daniel Ricciardo never having achieved the feat during their long careers.
Four-time defending champion Max Verstappen will start Sunday’s season-opening race from third, defying his gloomy pre-season predictions for Red Bull.
Piastri is aiming to become the first Australian driver to stand on the podium in Melbourne, let alone win the race.
Oscar Piastri has a golden opportunity to become the first Aussie since Alan Jones to win the home grand prix
Piastri will start second on the grid with McLaren teammate Lando Norris on pole position
Alan Jones was the most recent local winner of the Australian GP, back in 1980 at Calder Park Raceway, before the race joined the F1 world championship calendar in 1985.
Piastri’s fellow Australian, Jack Doohan, will start his first home GP from 14th after putting in a solid effort before being eliminated in Q2.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamiton qualified eighth in his highly-anticipated debut driving for Ferrari.
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman’s nightmare weekend continued as he failed to record a lap time after suffering gearbox trouble and will start from 20th and last on the grid.
The highly-rated teenager, who made his F1 debut as a reserve driver with Ferrari last year, made an error in practice one when he lost his front right tyre, causing him to miss P2.
After repairing his car ahead of the third and final practice, Bearman veered off into the gravel and caused another red-flag to end his session without a time.
‘A pretty unforgiving circuit,’ Bearman said.
‘Two seemingly small errors giving big consequences.
‘Clumsiness from my side to make these errors and that’s not good enough.
‘Then of course the gearbox issue in the qualifying, pretty much sums up what we’ve had so far.’