Russell takes Melbourne pole after Verstappen crash
· Yahoo Sports
George Russell took an imposing pole position as Mercedes dominated the first qualifying session of a new era of Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix.
Russell led team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.363 seconds and was 0.785secs clear of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar in second place.
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Max Verstappen crashed on his first lap to leave a degree of doubt as to the extent of Mercedes' superiority, but it was an impressive start to a new period of regulations by the former champions.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest, with the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris separating him from his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Briton Arvid Lindblad, 18, made an impressive start to his F1 career but a final lap that did not live up the standards he had set until then in the weekend left him behind Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson in ninth place.
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