BBC F1 pundit feels 5x race winner was ‘absolutely nowhere’ in Australian GP qualifying

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BBC F1 pundit Marc Priestley feels Charles Leclerc was ‘absolutely nowhere’ after the Ferrari driver went missing when it ‘really mattered’ in qualifying at the Australian GP.

The 26-year-old threatened to challenge for pole position in Melbourne on Saturday. But his quest for a 24th career P1 start evaporated over the final stage of qualifying. Instead, Carlos Sainz would lead Ferrari’s quest to deny Red Bull star Max Verstappen another pole position.

Ultimately, Verstappen had the field covered as he set a 1:15.915. The three-time defending champion was also the only driver to break into the 1:15s with Sainz settling for second with a 1:16.185. Leclerc, meanwhile, could only register the fifth-fastest Q3 lap time in qualifying.

Charles Leclerc went backwards in qualifying for the Australian GP

Leclerc posted a 1:16.435 in Q3 to come home behind Red Bull racer Sergio Perez (1:16.274) and McLaren star Lando Norris (1:16.315). But he will start in P4 as Perez falls to P6 after the 34-year-old received a three-place grid penalty due to impeding Nico Hulkenberg during Q1.

More was possible for the Monegasque, though, as Leclerc was the second-fastest driver in Q2. The five-time Grand Prix winner set a 1:16.304 in the second stage – better than his Q3 time. Only his Ferrari teammate, Sainz, went faster than Leclerc in Q2 with his 1:16.189 lap.

Perez was even 0.244 seconds slower than Leclerc in Q2 and Norris was a further 0.119s off his time. Yet the Red Bull and McLaren drivers both improved in Q3 to jump the Ferrari star. Verstappen also improved by 0.472 seconds between Q2 and Q3 to take pole position away.

Marc Priestley expected more from Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc

But seeing Leclerc go slower in Q3 than the Ferrari driver managed during the second stage of qualifying for the Australian GP frustrated Priestley. The ex-McLaren mechanic expected more from the Monegasque, who sealed pole position at five of the 22 Grand Prix last year.

“That is not a picture that I thought we’d be looking at,” Priestley noted on BBC Radio 5 Live (23/3, 06:02). “Max Verstappen taking pole [is] maybe not a big surprise. But the fact that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc weren’t able to get, really, anywhere near him [was].

“Carlos Sainz actually had a decent lap. Sergio Perez had decent lap. But Charles Leclerc [was] absolutely nowhere when it really mattered.”