MAX VERSTAPPEN clinched pole for the Australian GP while Mercedes were given a huge boost, with George Russell qualifying in second and Lewis Hamilton in third. But it was a nightmare for Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, Sergio Perez, who will start in LAST PLACE. Verstappen, who overcame battery and gear-change problems, took his first pole in Australia and said: “The last run was very good. “I think we will have a good race car and it will be a tricky race. There is a lot of hard work going on and the car felt alive. We are all working hard and to be this close to the Red Bull is incredible. While Verstappen was P1, it was a shocker for Perez, who spun off in Q1.

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