Miguel A. Herguedas

Updated Saturday, March 23, 2024-07:44

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He still felt limping, not in pain, but in discomfort. He had accelerated the recovery from his appendicitis with a titanic effort in the gym, knowing that his seat is something sacred.

Carlos Sainz

arrived very tight, but he was still able to fight side by side with

Max Verstappen

in Albert Park. The fantastic performance of the Madrid native only paled before the three-time world champion, author of the

pole

(1:15.915).

Fernando Alonso

, for his part, made a mistake in turn 6 that relegated him to tenth position on the grid.

No one can question Sainz's merit for sneaking in among the Red Bulls, 17 hundredths behind Verstappen and nine better than

Sergio Pérez

. It is almost a feat for someone who has spent so many hours in bed before taking the plane to Melbourne. However, the bad news for Ferrari and F1 lies again in Verstappen's speed. After a weekend with more difficulties than usual, the three-time champion woke up on time again in Q3.

Sainz could only maintain the pace during the first sector, already giving up a tenth in the second. He did quite a bit, in any case, because in the morning, he had felt almost faint during FP3. Despite some dizziness, the times went with astonishing naturalness. He had been leading the table in Q1 and Q2. Although he could not take the icing on the

pole

, he raised the Ferrari banner with more gallantry than

Charles Leclerc

. The Monegasque, always behind throughout Saturday, made a mistake at turn 12 that would even prevent him from closing his lap.

In contrast to McLaren, the Silver Arrows' step back was evident in Melbourne. Although

Lewis Hamilton

had finished in the same tenth as Leclerc during the last free practice sessions of the morning, the seven-time champion was left out of Q3 by 59 thousandths. His executioner, the unpredictable

Yuki Tsunoda

. One more weekend - and there are already three in 2024 -

George Russell

beat his garage mate by hand.

The encouragement of Albert Park, with 125,000 fans spread around the lake, was not enough for

Daniel Ricciardo

, who was eliminated for exceeding the track limits. A cause for loud celebration for

Kevin Magnussen

, saved by the bell.

Alex Albon

's adventure , with the only Williams on the track due to

Logan Sargeant

's breakdown

, did not go beyond that Q2, which does not seem a little James Vowles