Summary

  • Ferrari's Charles Leclerc wins his second race of season to extend championship lead to 34 points

  • Red Bull's Sergio Perez P2, George Russell of Mercedes completes podium with team-mate Lewis Hamilton P4

  • Red Bull's Max Verstappen retires from second place

  • Sebastian Vettel spins Aston Martin into wall to bring out safety car

  • Ferrari's Carlos Sainz retires on lap two after high-speed spin

  • Follow BBC Radio 5 Live commentary via tab at top of page

  • Get involved via #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Matthew Henry

  1. What happened in qualifying?

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    Charles LeclercGetty Images

    Ferrari's Charles Leclerc grabbed pole from Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the end of a dramatic qualifying session at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.

    The final session was interrupted by a red flag following a crash for Fernando Alonso's Alpine after an apparent hydraulic failure.

    Leclerc had just set the fastest time when Alonso went off, but was beaten by Verstappen when the session resumed.

    But Leclerc pulled out a fine lap at the end to take pole by 0.286 seconds.

    Red Bull's Sergio Perez took third, with McLaren's Lando Norris fourth ahead of the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

    Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was only ninth fastest after a difficult session.

    The Spaniard's first flying lap did not register because the red flag was thrown for Alonso's crash just as Sainz approached the line.

    And then he could not deliver a representative lap on his final run, ending up 1.5secs slower than his team-mate.

  2. They have waited three years for this in Melbourne. Quite the atmosphere is building...

    Pre-race track paradeGetty Images
    Fans in MelbourneGetty Images

  3. Hello! The first race in Bahrain was won by Charles Leclerc. The second in Saudi Arabia was won by Max Verstappen.

    Now, as race day arrives in Australia for the first time in three years, those two are ready to resume their battle.

    The Ferrari driver will start on pole with Verstappen alongside him. There's an intriguing grid behind them with Sergio Perez, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the mix.

    Grab a drink, some early snacks and get comfortable. This could be great.

  4. It may be early. The rest of your house may be in bed.

    But if this season has taught us anything so far it's that race days are not to be missed.

    We're set up for what could be another absorbing race in Formula 1.