The qualifying gates are open for 2025!

Q1 is green and there is a long line of cars waiting to get out.

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The midfield is just as competitive as the front of the field this season and Williams are hoping to make strides with their pairing of Alex Albon and Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

There was a time when just one car making it into Q3 would be a joyous occasion for the British team, but after wooing Sainz following his departure from Ferrari, team principal James Vowles could now get to see both his drivers ruffling a few feathers in the top 10 shootout on a consistent basis.

McLaren's Lando Norris, speaking to Sky Sports before qualifying: "I'm relaxed. I think it's going to be a tight qualifying, it's a tough one ahead but we are confident we can put in a strong start so that's my plan."

Image source, Getty Images

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Lewis Hamilton was in a "never say never" mood for a first pole position with Ferrari after yesterday's performance, but today he may feel a bit differently after finishing eighth on the timesheets in third practice.

The seven-time world champion was over fourth tenths away from Oscar Piastri's best time, with team-mate Charles Leclerc closer to the front-runners in fourth place.

Hamilton is still feel his way around his new car, and he added on Friday he is not putting any pressure on to claim a 105th career pole. However, he certainly knows how to stick a car on the front-row spot at Albert Park having secured eight of them during his time on the grid - the most of any driver.

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Last week, we asked BBC Sport users to select how you thought the drivers' championship would finish, from 1-20.

The poll closed on Thursday and Lando Norris just came out on top in terms of who would win the title, ahead of Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were predicted to finish third and fourth respectively.

The top six using the average order from the poll was:

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

6. George Russell (Mercedes)

Head here for the full 1-20

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While his all-conquering team-mate Max Verstappen was swapping quickest lap times with his familiar rivals at the front, newbie Liam Lawson was stuck in the Red Bull garage, curtailed by issues with his car. The New Zealander joined Ollie Bearman on the sidelines for the rest of the session, with zero running on the soft tyre before qualifying.

Many people have cited McLaren as favourites going into the 2025 season but what does CEO Zak Brown think? He has been discussing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's chances of winning the drivers' championship this season with Karthi Gnanasegaram on Radio 4's Today programme.

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Oliver Bearman has had a nightmare start to his debut weekend in Australia.

He crashed heavily in first practice, causing a lengthy repair job for the Haas mechanics as he missed the second session.

Today's hour didn't go any better, sadly, and he beached his car in the gravel early on to bring out another red flag. The teenager is now up against it for qualifying with only 13 laps under his belt.

Who is going to win the drivers' and constructors' championships? How will Lewis Hamilton get on at Ferrari? And who might surprise us?

These are the key questions as the season gets under way and the BBC Radio 5 Live team have had their say.

Have a watch as Harry Benjamin, Jennie Gow, Alice Powell, Marc Priestley and Rosanna Tennant give us their predictions for 2025.

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Oscar Piastri grew up a stone's throw away from Albert Park and has a great chance today to put his McLaren on pole position. He topped the final practice session with a time of 1:15.921 ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Red Bull of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

The 23-year-old Aussie secured two race wins in 2024 but he is yet to claim a maiden pole in Formula 1.

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Hello, folks. We're edging closer to daylight here in the UK but Melbourne is already deep into to the afternoon, with the temperature at 36 degrees and Albert Park packed out for the opening pole fight of the new campaign.

Qualifying gets under way at 05:00 GMT.

Live commentary is available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab. You can also ask BBC Sounds to play Australian Grand Prix qualifying via most smart speakers.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

Image source, Reuters

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the pace in final practice at the Australian Grand Prix, just shading Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton was eighth for Ferrari, 0.457secs off the pace and 0.190secs behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was complaining about an oversteer balance that “doesn’t give me any confidence”.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was only 10th after failing to put together a clean lap, but showing enough flashes of pace to suggest he will be fighting at the front when qualifying starts at 05:00 GMT (16:00 local time).

The closeness of the times suggests a tight battle for pole. Piastri was just 0.039 seconds ahead of Russell and 0.081secs clear of Verstappen, as Red Bull found some pace after struggling on Friday.

The second Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fifth fastest, ahead of the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.

The final Briton on the grid, Haas driver Oliver Bearman, continued his torrid weekend by losing control of his car on his first flying lap, spinning into the gravel at Turn 11 and putting himself out of the session.

The incident robbed the 19-year-old of much-needed track time, lost on Friday as a result of a heavy crash out of the high-speed chicane at Turns Nine and 10. Haas were unable to repair the car in time for Bearman to run in the second session.

• Full third practice results

The pole position fight should be a close battle between the top teams - expect Lando Norris to be in the mix after aborting his flying lap and finishing 10th in third practice.

For rookies Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson, they'll be heading out for the opening qualifying session in Melbourne on minimal laps and data.

Let's park the page here and regroup after a quick pit stop at 04:30 GMT.

See you shortly.

With three British drivers racing for three of the top teams, Rosanna Tennant, Harry Benjamin, Andrew Benson and Marc Priestley got together in the Melbourne paddock on Friday for a 'Battle of the Brits' Chequered Flag podcast special.

Is Lewis Hamilton the fastest, backed by his seven world titles? Should Lando Norris be favourite, given he's in the 2024 constructors' championship-winning car? Or is George Russell being underestimated?

11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

13. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

17. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

19. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

20. Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:15.921

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.039

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.081

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.267

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.285

6. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.331

7. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.337

8. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari) +0.457

9. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) +0.534

10. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.676

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator in Melbourne

It's a fairly overcast sky with hints of blue managing to peek out from behind it, the temperature is still getting hot.

How competitive will Mercedes be this season? It's a new dawn for the team without Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell the new leader. The 27-year-old goes purple in the first sector and by the end of the lap he's close to Oscar Piastri's top time, but no cigar just yet. The pair are separated by 0.039 seconds.

Over at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc says his car is "very oversteery".

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Lots of drivers are improving and it may be because the track temperature has ramped up and we are now starting to see overheating of tyres being a major factor.

For the young rookies in this field, these are the kind of things they've really got to learn to get to grips with.