Lewis Hamilton will make his Ferrari debut in Australia after Formula One’s bosses announced next season’s record-equalling 24-round calendar.

Hamilton, 39, is set to realise a childhood dream when he swaps Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025, with the seven-time world champion’s opening race to take place in Melbourne on March 16.

It will mark the first time since 2019 that the F1 season has kicked off at Albert Park after the following year’s scheduled opener was cancelled at the last minute amid the outbreak of coronavirus.

The 2025 campaign is due to end in Abu Dhabi on December 7, with the British Grand Prix – starting the first of its new 10-year contract extension at Silverstone – on July 6.

Triple world champion Max Verstappen has been vocal in his criticism at the ever-expanding length of the F1 schedule.

But for next season, at least, there will be no new additions to the calendar.

The campaign has started in Bahrain for the past four seasons, but with Ramadan staged throughout March in 2025, the rounds in the Gulf kingdom, and in Saudi Arabia, will be pushed back to April.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “2025 will be a special year as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Formula One World Championship, and it’s that legacy and experience that allows us to deliver such a strong calendar.

“Once again, we’ll visit 24 incredible venues around the world, delivering top-class racing, hospitality, and entertainment, which will be enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide.

“I would also like to pay tribute to our F1 teams and drivers, the heroes of our sport, and our fans around the world for continuing to follow Formula One with such incredible enthusiasm.”

After four rounds of the current season, Verstappen holds a 13-point championship lead in his bid to secure four consecutive world titles. The next race takes place in Shanghai a week on Sunday.

Full 2025 F1 calendar

March 16 – Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
March 23 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
April 6 – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
April 13 – Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)
April 20 – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah)
May 4 – Miami Grand Prix (Miami)
May 18 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola)
May 25 – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
June 1 – Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
June 15 – Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
June 29 – Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
July 6 – British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
July 27 – Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
August 3 – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
August 31 – Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)
September 7 – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
September 21 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)
October 5 – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay)
October 19 – United States Grand Prix (Austin)
October 26 – Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico City)
November 9 – Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)
November 22 – Las Vegas Grand Prix (Las Vegas)
November 30 – Qatar Grand Prix (Lusail)
December 7 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)

Fernando Alonso will remain in Formula One beyond his 45th birthday after agreeing a new multi-season deal with Aston Martin.

Double world champion Alonso, who will be 43 in July, had been linked with Mercedes and Red Bull – as replacements for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen respectively.

But Aston Martin announced on Thursday that Alonso, whose current deal had been due to expire at the end of the year, has agreed new terms to remain with them until at least the end of 2026.

Both Mercedes, searching for a replacement for the Ferrari-bound Hamilton, and Red Bull – with Verstappen said to be unsettled at the scandal-hit Red Bull team – had been tracking Alonso’s next move.

And Alonso admitted: “I did speak with other people. It is normal when you enter negotiations that you need to balance the market and listen to everybody else.

“I will not be specific as to which team I spoke with because this is not important. When teams are searching for a driver, they touch base with everyone just to know their position. They always want to know everything and for me it was the same.

“Maybe more time was needed (by them), while with Aston Martin there was a clear desire to work together so that is why it was very easy to stay. I felt the most wanted by them. All the other conversations were just light, and never came to any conclusions.

“I will not wait to see if there is something happening and I can jump in. I will dictate my destiny, whether that is for good or for bad.”

Alonso will this season become the first driver to take part in 400 grands prix, and his new deal is set to make him comfortably the oldest F1 driver of the modern era.

Michael Schumacher was 43 when he retired for a second time in 2012, while Kimi Raikkonen was a year younger when he walked away from the sport in 2021.

“I love driving too much that I cannot stop at the moment,” added Alonso. “I breathe Formula One, I live Formula One, and I train and eat to drive Formula One cars.

“The moment hasn’t arrived that I need to change my lifestyle. I will not be happy sitting at home and watching Formula One races because I still feel I should be there.

“If one day I feel I am not motivated, or I am not in good shape, or I am not fast and sharp, I will be the first one to raise my hand and we will find a solution with Aston Martin.

“But I don’t see that coming for the next few years. Japan (on Sunday) was one of my best races ever, and that happened five days ago. Lewis will also be 40 in January, so at least I will not be the only one next year who is over 40.”

Alonso took the last of his two world titles in 2006, and has not won a race in more than a decade.

But the former Ferrari and McLaren man is still considered as one of the brightest stars of the F1 field.

Last year, in his first season at Aston Martin, he helped to transform the British team from also-rans to frontrunners. He took eight podiums and finished fourth in the championship.

Although Aston Martin have not been able to maintain that form, there is hope that the next major regulation change in 2026, which will see them partner with Honda – the Japanese manufacturer that has powered Red Bull to its recent successes – will allow Alonso to compete at the sharp end of the grid once more.

Alonso continued: “We have achieved so many highs here in such a short space of time. It is probably unprecedented in Formula One.

“This is only the beginning of the journey, so it could not be the end for me and Aston Martin.”

Fernando Alonso will remain with Aston Martin beyond this season after signing a new ‘multi-year’ deal with the British-based Formula One team.

Double world champion Alonso, who will be 43 in July, had been linked with Mercedes and Red Bull – as possible replacements for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen respectively.

But Aston Martin announced on Thursday that Alonso, whose current deal had been due to expire at the end of the year, has agreed a contract extension.

“I am here to stay,” said Alonso via an Aston Martin press release. The team did not mention the length of the new deal.

Team principal Mike Krack said: “Securing Fernando’s long-term future with Aston Martin is fantastic news.

“We have built a strong working relationship over the last 18 months and we share the same determination to see this project succeed.

“We have been in constant dialogue over the last few months and Fernando has been true to his word: when he decided he wanted to continue racing, he talked to us first. Fernando has shown he believes in us, and we believe in him.

“Fernando is hungry for success, driving better than ever, is fitter than ever, and is completely dedicated to making Aston Martin a competitive force.

“This multi-year agreement with Fernando takes us into 2026 when we begin our works power unit partnership with Honda. We look forward to creating more incredible memories and achieving further success together.”

Alonso, who has won 32 races, will this season become the first driver to take part in 400 grands prix, and his latest deal will take him beyond his 45th birthday.

Both Mercedes, searching for a replacement for the Ferrari-bound Hamilton, and Red Bull – with Verstappen said to be unsettled at the scandal-hit Red Bull team – had been tracking Alonso’s next move.

But the Spaniard will enter into at least a third season with Aston Martin, with ambitious owner Lawrence Stroll determined to turn the Silverstone-based team into championship contenders.

Alonso took the last of his two world titles in 2006, and has not won a race in more than a decade.

But he is still considered as one of the stars of the F1 field, and last year helped to transform Aston Martin from also-rans to frontrunners. He took eight podiums and finished fourth in the championship.

After the opening four rounds of the new campaign, Alonso is eighth in the standings.

Lando Norris has dismissed suggestions from dominant Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez that they could struggle for pace in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen took pole position to continue his run of locking out the first spot on the grid so far this season, while Perez was just 0.066 seconds slower to secure his place on the front row.

Norris emerged from a pack of cars all running very similar times to take the place as best of the rest for McLaren on another Saturday where it was Red Bull who shone.

Despite a 27th qualifying one-two for the Red Bull team, both drivers were quick to point out they are not as happy with their longer race pace.

Having run with their race set-up in the final practice session ahead of qualifying, Verstappen complained: “So far, I haven’t been happy with my long runs. The pace wasn’t what I would have liked, so there’s a bit of a question mark going into tomorrow.

“Our race pace is still not too bad, but it’s not how I have been feeling in some of the races this year, last year, as comfortable, let’s say it like that.”

Perez, meanwhile, echoed the views of his team-mate: “Let’s see what we are able to do tomorrow,” he said.

“I don’t think we are looking great at the moment in our long run pace, but we’ve done some changes and hopefully that will translate into our race pace.”

However, Norris did not seem to buy the suggestions that Red Bull may have any sort of Sunday struggles.

“Obviously last year I was side by side with Max into turn one. So hopefully trying to redo that,” he said of his plans for the race.

“But it’s tricky. They’re quick. They complained about their race pace, but I don’t think they’ve had a bad race in the last four or five years, so I think they’re going to be good tomorrow.

“Of course we’ve got a lot of pressure from behind so we have to keep an eye on the mirrors. But at the same time I want to go forward and I think we have pace to stay where we are, so that’s my goal.

“That will be our target for tomorrow. But I think realistically, we’re still too far away to challenge them. They’re too quick for us. Yes, we are quicker in qualifying, but in the race, normally, they always pull away a bit more.

“So, I think we’ll be realistic. I’m always realistic when I say it. So I think our competition is with the guys behind and at the same time, I’ll do my best to push forward.”

Carlos Sainz won in Australia last time out and will start Sunday’s race fourth for Ferrari, with the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso fifth.

Oscar Piastri was sixth-fastest in the second McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are down in seventh and ninth respectively – with Mercedes later fined 5,000 euros for an unsafe pit-lane release of Russell.

Charles Leclerc is sandwiched between the pair, with home favourite Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.

Tsunoda scraped into the final session, eliminating RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo at the end of Q2 to the roar of the Suzuka crowd.

Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon also failed to make it through and will start 12-15th, respectively.

Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu were knocked out in Q1.

Lewis Hamilton may have only managed to qualify seventh for the Japanese Grand Prix but he insists his Mercedes has not felt better in three years.

The seven-time world champion will start from the fourth row at Suzuka, with team-mate George Russell in ninth.

While from the outside that would suggest Mercedes once again struggled with an underperforming car – like much of the past two years – Hamilton was in good spirits following Saturday’s qualifying.

Having lamented the gap to pole-sitter Max Verstappen over the team radio during the session, he had a more positive outlook in the aftermath.

“The car has been much nicer to drive this weekend… this is the nicest it has felt in three years,” he said.

“I think we did a really good job over the last week, just the analysis we’ve done at the factory to get the car into a sweet spot.

“This weekend it’s much more in the sweet spot and so I hope that continues in the following races. Then we’ve just got to add performance.

“I think we’ve got the car into a much nicer working window and so it’s been really enjoyable driving, it’s just the guys are just a little bit faster.”

Hamilton has amassed just eight points from the opening three races of the 2024 campaign and retired last time out in Australia.

The early signs are Mercedes face another year of chasing the fastest cars rather than challenging for victories – but the Briont, who will race for Ferrari from next year – feels things are starting to look up.

Asked if he believes Mercedes are now heading in the right direction, Hamilton replied: “I personally believe so.

“We were a second or just over a second off last year to the Red Bull and seven tenths is now better,” he added.

“I think what it’s giving us is I know exactly where the car is not strong enough, I can feel it in the car, and I know now to be tell them to ‘push in this particular area’. But I’m hoping the race will be stronger tomorrow.”

Mercedes were hit with a Euros5,000 (£4,290) fine for an unsafe pit lane release of Russell at the start of qualifying.

Russell will start the race from his lowest grid slot this season but he believes it will be a close battle with the cars in and around him.

“I think it’s just so tight out there between ourselves McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin,” he said.

“If you nail your lap you are up at the front of that pack, and if you don’t you will be at the back of that pack, we knew that this circuit was going to be a slight challenge for us. We know our limitation in the high-speed corners.”

Max Verstappen set the pace in final practice ahead of qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion retired last time out in Australia but he was once again top of the timesheets at Suzuka.

His time of one minute 29.563 was unmatched, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez getting closest to the championship leader but still having to settle for a gap of 0.269 seconds.

Mercedes lost both cars at the previous race but looked in good shape here as George Russell went third fastest with Lewis Hamilton next in line.

There was plenty of running in the hour-long session after both of Friday’s practices were affected – one by a red flag and the other by rain.

Fernando Alonso was fifth fastest with Lando Norris’ McLaren sixth and Australia’s race winner Carlos Sainz seventh for Ferrari.

His team-mate Charles Leclerc was down in 10th and was left fuming with his garage after the mistimed his final run on the track, cutting short his chances of improving.

Both Williams drivers were able to run after Logan Sargeant’s car was fixed following a big shunt on Friday – although the American was down in 19th place.

Toto Wolff made a U-turn on his decision not to attend the Japanese Grand Prix as it would have been the “wrong choice” given Mercedes recent troubles.

The Mercedes team boss was scheduled not to be at Suzuka this weekend and the PA news agency understands that was planned before the start of the new season and not as a result of the team’s poor performance at the Australian Grand Prix.

Neither Lewis Hamilton nor George Russell finished the race in Melbourne, with Russell’s fifth-placed finish in the season-opener in Bahrain the best result for the team so far this year.

Having dominated the sport between 2014 and 2021, Mercedes have struggled since new regulations arrived the following year and have won just one race in that time.

Wolff changed his mind on attending the race in Suzuka – where Russell and Hamilton finished fourth and fifth in first practice before a rain-affected second session – and explained the call on Friday afternoon.

“I had planned not to come to Japan, because there’s so much on back in Europe, things to do,” he said.

“But then I felt not coming to Japan was the wrong choice. I think it’s important to be with the race team…it does me good also, to be close to the action.

“We’re experimenting with a few things and then being part of the team really gives me energy and I hope the other way around, too. So that’s why I decided against staying in Europe.”

Speaking on Thursday, Hamilton was asked about the tough times of both drivers not crossing the finish line last time out.

“I think it’s all about perspective. I think for us of course we’ve not started the season where we wanted to be,” he said.

“We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve seen in the past – last year for example – how things can switch with certain teams.

“I think we’ve just got to learn as much as we can, take as much as we can from the data, remain positive, continue to work hard and I always say it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get up.

“We will just continue to chase and fight and hope we can be fighting at the front at some stage.”

Wolff, too, was keen to be optimistic when asked about the struggles of the season so far.

“We are a sports team, we’ve won eight times in a row, and that hasn’t been done before. But you have periods where you struggle, like any other sports team, and you can’t win every time.

“That’s why this is a super challenge and it’s not a race, it’s not one single season, and then you come back out on top, but it’s the third one in a row.

“But I remain absolutely convinced that we will be looking back in a few years and saying that was so tough, but so important for the development of the team.”

Hamilton, who has won six of Mercedes’ seven consecutive drivers’ championships, is leaving to join Ferrari next season.

He has tipped Sebastian Vettel as an “amazing option” to take his seat at Mercedes after the four-time world champion revealed he has been considering returning to F1 after leaving in 2022.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Vettel admitted he has been talking to Wolff – who was full of praise for the former Red Bull and Ferrari man, before confirming he has whittled down the options for 2025 to two or three drivers.

“Sebastian is someone you can never discount,” he said.

“His track record is phenomenal, and sometimes maybe taking a break is also good to evaluate what’s important for you and re-find your motivation.

“We haven’t taken the decision yet and it is not something we plan to do in the next few weeks, the driver market is very dynamic and some of the really good guys are about so sign for the other teams.”

Second practice for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix proved to be a damp squib as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time on a weather-affected session.

Local favourite Yuki Tsunoda and his RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo were the only drivers to set lap times early on in changeable conditions, but set their times on the intermediate tyre.

The hour-long session began in rain and, although it later stopped, the track was not deemed sufficiently dry enough for most teams to send out their cars.

Piastri was one of them and his time of one minute 34.725 seconds proved fast enough to top the timesheets, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari the only others to set representative times.

Earlier, Max Verstappen set the pace in first practice as Willams endured another Friday to forget.

Reigning champion Verstappen retired in Melbourne a fortnight ago but was back at it here, his time of one minute 20.056 seconds was enough to see him go quickest at Suzuka, with team-mate Sergio Perez his closest challenger 0.181 seconds back.

A red flag halfway through the session stopped running for 11 minutes as Logan Sargeant crashed off at turn two – further adding to the Williams woes.

Sargeant sat out the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago as team-mate Alex Albon took his car after destroying his own in a practice crash and the team currently have no spare chassis.

Williams team principal James Vowles confirmed the car had suffered “extensive” damage and Sargeant was forced to sit out of second practice – although the lack of running meant there was little that would have been gained from taking part.

“It is pretty significant (damage). So the chassis is OK, fortunately, but I would say pretty much everything else isn’t – so the suspension around, the gearbox is cracked, big damage.

“At the top of the brow of the hill there, he struggled to see where his positioning was on track. So it fundamentally looks like he didn’t quite realise where he was with where the grass was on the outside and put a wheel on the grass.”

Albon went 12th fastest after the action restarted, while Verstappen assumed his usual position as the car to beat.

Carlos Sainz, who won in Australia last time out, was third-fastest for Ferrari ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Hamilton, while the second Ferrari of Leclerc was sixth.

Lewis Hamilton has tipped Sebastian Vettel as an “amazing option” to replace him at Mercedes.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton is moving to Ferrari from next season, leaving big shoes to fill at a team where he has lifted all-but one of his drivers’ titles.

Vettel, meanwhile, has hinted at a return to the Formula One grid next year having left in 2022.

The German won four titles back to back between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull and has recently had a test with Porsche that could see him race at Le Mans later this year.

Since 2000, three of the six world champions to leave the sport later returned to the grid, with Vettel potentially set to add to that list.

Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all had time away from F1 before being enticed back and Vettel admitted in a Sky Sports interview on Wednesday that “it does cross my mind” when it comes to securing a new drive and has spoken to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

The departing Hamilton said it was never a consideration of his to take time away from the sport, before hailing Vettel as an ideal replacement at a team that has struggled for pace in the past two years.

“No, I’ve never thought about taking a year or two off and then coming back – When I’m gone, hopefully I’m gone for good,” he said.

“You’re always going to miss it. It’s the greatest sport in the world and it’s the greatest experience in the world and the most amazing feeling to be working with the people towards winning something.

“Probably there’s nothing that’s ever going to feel the same. I’ve not asked any of the drivers what they’re missing but I would love for Seb to come back and I think it would be an amazing option for the team.

“A German driver, multi-world championship winning driver, and someone who has amazing values who would continue to take the team forward. I’d love it if he came back.”

Pushed further on who he would like to take his seat – whether it be Vettel, reigning champion Max Verstappen or an F1 rookie, Hamilton replied: “The only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone that with integrity.

“That are aligned with the team and where the team’s going. Someone compassionate that’s able to work with great people and continues to lift them up. There’s so many great people in this team.”

Hamilton’s current team-mate George Russell is confirmed for Mercedes in 2025 and was enthused when it was pitched to him that he could be joined by a returning Vettel.

“Sebastian’s a great person,” he said.

“He’s a four-time world champion and for sure his personality is missed on the grid.

“I think it is important that we have the best 20 drivers in the world all competing for race wins and championships.

“I’m really happy and open to have anybody as my team-mate, you know, whether it’s world champion, whether it’s a rookie, it doesn’t change how I go about my business.”

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has hinted he could be tempted to make a Formula One comeback after revealing he has been talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Mercedes are searching for a new driver for 2025 and beyond after Lewis Hamilton announced in February he was quitting for Ferrari after 11 years with the Silver Arrows.

Vettel, who won his four drivers’ titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, left F1 at the end of the 2022 campaign after six years at Ferrari and two with Aston Martin.

Now, though, the 36-year-old has suggested he could return to the sport after speaking to a number of team bosses up and down the paddock.

“I am speaking to Toto. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things,” the German told Sky Sports News.

“I’m talking to a lot of people because I know them, but not very specific. I mean obviously it does cross my mind, I do think about it, but it’s not the main thought.

“I have three kids at home, it’s busy every day, so there’s a lot of other thoughts I have. There’s ideas that I have.

“Events that I’m planning going forwards, so I did speak to a lot of other team principals as well, and not only about racing. There’s thoughts, but nothing concrete at the minute.”

A seat at a top team could help Vettel make a decision to return to the grid and he admits he was caught out by Hamilton’s decision to swap Mercedes for Ferrari after winning six world championships with the team.

“I was surprised, like I guess most of us were,” he said.

“But it is exciting. Obviously he’s looking for a new challenge and it will be different to see him in red, in a different colour.”

Meanwhile, Vettel has been testing a different kind of race car having spent time in the Porsche contender for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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“Maybe, I don’t know yet,” he replied when asked if he could make his first appearance in the famous endurance race this year.

“I’ve been testing. I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels. It’s obviously a different discipline. It’s still racing, but it’s a different car, different discipline.

“I am (tempted) and I’m not. I am obviously also looking for lots of other things and there’s lots of other things that do interest me outside of racing.”

Guenther Steiner has warned Red Bull their dominance of Formula One will end just as Mercedes’ did.

Red Bull have won the last three constructors’ championships with Max Verstappen completing a hat-trick of drivers’ titles, in the process breaking the strangleholds imposed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in previous years.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a miserable start to the new season with his car lasting just 17 laps of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix as team-mate George Russell crashed out to leave the Brackley and Brixworth-based team 71 points adrift of Red Bull after just three races and pile the pressure on boss Toto Wolff.

But asked about their difficulties, former Haas team principal Steiner said: “Obviously they are struggling a little bit at the moment. For me, they are a good team, I think they’re a good team. It’s just like it’s competition.

“Mercedes was dominating for a long time and you cannot always be dominating, you shouldn’t expect that. Now we say Red Bull is dominating – it will come to an end, like Mercedes came to an end.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Mercedes is not doing well’ – Mercedes is still in the top four at the moment or top five, they just need to do a little bit better. But it’s how competitive this sport is and you cannot take anything for granted.

“Obviously Toto would love to dominate the sport forever, but nothing is forever. I think it’s good for the sport and shows also how quickly it goes up and down.

“Mercedes is still doing OK, they’re still scoring points. Sometimes you forget there are 10 teams and not only three which are allowed to win. I think all 10 should be allowed to win and those are the things you learn when you are outside of the sport like I am now.”

Hamilton, who is in the midst of his worst start to a campaign, will join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 campaign, leaving a huge gap to plug.

Steiner, speaking after being announced as an ambassador for May’s Miami Grand Prix, was asked if Carlos Sainz – winner in Australia just 16 days after undergoing surgery for appendicitis – would be at the top of his list if he was in charge at Red Bull or Mercedes.

He replied: “Toto has no urgency to sign anybody because everybody is waiting until that seat is filled, but I’m sure a lot of people are speaking to Carlos at the moment.”

Lewis Hamilton said the inconsistency of his Mercedes “messes with the mind” following his worst qualifying performance in Australia for 14 years.

Hamilton, who boasts a record eight pole positions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, will start Sunday’s 58-lap race from a disappointing 11th after he was eliminated in Q2.

Max Verstappen took pole – his third in as many races – as he bids to complete a record-equalling 10 victories, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row.

Hamilton qualified eighth in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago, and ninth the week before in Bahrain.

He trails team-mate George Russell, who will line up in seventh on Sunday, 3-0 over one lap this season, and after finishing only seventh and ninth at the opening two rounds, he has scored just eight points to Russell’s 18 so far.

“The inconsistency in the car really messes with the mind,” said Hamilton, who had finished fourth in final practice, less than a tenth off the pace.

“There is a long list of things to fix. Our car is on a knife edge. In the afternoon the wind picks up and the car becomes unstable. But the others can pick their pace up in qualifying and I am not sure why.

“It didn’t feel the same in qualifying from practice even though we had lighter fuel. It is not a great feeling for everyone in the team but we will keep working away.”

Hamilton has not won a race since the penultimate fixture of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia, 57 rounds ago.

Mercedes have adopted a different design philosophy this season, but Hamilton is low on confidence in the last Silver Arrows he will drive before he heads to Ferrari in 2025.

“It is three years in a row where I have had a similar feeling,” continued the seven-time world champion.

“There are spikes like this morning in practice where I think it can be good, and then it disappears.

“If we can make the car more consistent maybe we can be more competitive but there is a lot of work to do and everyone is pushing as hard as they can.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff pulled no punches with his assessment of his team’s performance.

“It’s especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in final practice,” he said. “The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.

“We have a car that is difficult, and as much as I am annoyed at myself for saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and trying to get better.

“It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it’s not good enough.”

At the sharp end of the grid, Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.

But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at a sun-cooked Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Sainz by 0.270 seconds.

After winning the last nine rounds, stretching back to his victory at September’s race in Japan, Verstappen heads into Sunday’s main event as the overwhelming favourite to take another triumph and match his own record.

“It was a bit unexpected today, but I am very happy with Q3,” said Verstappen. “Both of my laps felt nice and enjoyable. It has been a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end.”

Sainz, who had emergency surgery in Jeddah to remove his appendix just 15 days ago, added: “It has been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting to see if I would be here today, and to make it to this weekend and then to put it on the front row, I almost didn’t believe it.

“I was rusty yesterday but I got up to speed and found the pace and I feel good with the car. I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done.”

Max Verstappen is on course to take a record-equalling 10 consecutive victories after putting his Red Bull on pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.

But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at Melbourne’s Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Carlos Sainz, who missed the last round in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis, by 0.270 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton holds a record eight pole positions here, but the British driver was eliminated in Q2, leaving him a disappointing 11th on the grid – his lowest starting position in Melbourne for 14 years.

Hamilton failed to progress to Q3 after he finished 0.059 seconds behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Russell, who will start seventh, holds a 3-0 qualifying lead over Hamilton who will leave the Silver Arrows at the end of the season to join Ferrari.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who aborted his last lap after he made a mistake.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw off Max Verstappen in practice for the Australian Grand Prix – as Lewis Hamilton claimed “something was wrong” with his Mercedes after he finished only 18th.

Verstappen is bidding to match his record of 10 consecutive wins at this weekend’s race in Melbourne.

But Leclerc could pose a threat to the all-conquering Dutchman, following an impressive practice lap that put him nearly four-tenths clear.

Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz – back in his cockpit following British teenager Ollie Bearman’s stand-in drive in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago – ended the running in third, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso fourth and fifth, respectively, for Aston Martin.

George Russell took sixth for Mercedes, 0.674 seconds behind Leclerc, but team-mate Hamilton finished ahead of only Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on a troubling day for the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton, 39, ran off the road in the first running at a sun-cooked Albert Park, and his struggles continued into the day’s concluding session, with a best lap that put him 1.5 sec off the pace and nearly a second behind Russell.

“What times are people doing?” Hamilton asked over the radio. After he was informed of leader Leclerc’s pace, he replied, “Yeah, something is wrong.”

Only 19 drivers took part in the second session following Alex Albon’s high-speed crash in the opening session.

The London-born Thai driver lost control of his Williams on the exit of Turn 6 before smashing into the wall on the inside of the track and rebounding across the circuit.

Albon’s right-front wheel tore off his machine under impact, with debris from his Williams littering the track.

Albon came to a standstill and was able to get out of his cockpit. “Sorry,” he said over the radio before he was taken away in the medical car.

“Muchos debris,” said Lando Norris. “Is he alright? It looked pretty large.”

Albon, 27, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks as the session was red-flagged to clear his destroyed machine.

Williams said he would not participate in the second practice due to the damage to his car, and it is uncertain if he will be able to take part in the remainder of the weekend with spare parts limited to the British team.

Elsewhere, home favourite Oscar Piastri finished seventh, two positions ahead of Norris in the other McLaren who had topped the time charts earlier in the day in front of a record 124,000-strong crowd.

Lewis Hamilton lauded “phenomenal” Ollie Bearman as a “future star” after the British teenager completed a dream 24 hours by securing points on his Formula One debut for Ferrari.

Bearman was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for appendicitis-hit Carlos Sainz and after qualifying 11th, made up four places in Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to finish seventh – remarkably two positions ahead of Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Hamilton.

Hamilton applauded Bearman as he drove past him following the chequered flag and then waited by his Ferrari to embrace the 18-year-old.

Hamilton, 21 years older than his countryman, said: “To be pulled out of your class and put straight into a Ferrari, and then to go straight into practice, he did such a phenomenal job and it has just showed he is a really bright future star.”

Bearman had been due to compete in F1’s feeder series, Formula Two, in Jeddah before Ferrari told him only a handful of hours before final practice on Friday, that he would be replacing Sainz – becoming the youngest British F1 driver in the process.

Following surgery, Sainz was back in the paddock for Saturday’s race. Despite walking gingerly, Ferrari expect the 29-year-old Spaniard, who will next year make way for Hamilton at the scarlet team, to be back in his cockpit for the Australian Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

Bearman was thrust into the spotlight after just two practice run-outs for Ferrari’s B team Haas last season – but his showing under the lights may have helped fast-track his progression to the big time.

Although a full-time seat at Ferrari is not on the cards for 2025, both Haas drivers’ Kevin Magnussen, 31, and Nico Hulkenberg, 36, are out of contract at the end of the season.

And George Russell, who finished one place ahead of Bearman, said: “I fully expect to see him on the grid next year, or the one after.

“He did an amazing job, coming in at a circuit like this which is extremely difficult. He exceeded everybody’s expectations and he caught a lot of people by surprise. He clearly had confidence from the off to push the car to the limit.”

Away from Bearman’s impressive debut – which saw him win the fan-voted driver of the day award – Mercedes endured another disappointing evening. Russell and Hamilton crossed the line 40 and 47 seconds respectively behind Max Verstappen, who stormed to his second win of the season and ninth in a row stretching back to last year.

“There is something we need to spot and unlock and it is not by a lack of trying,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“We push so hard and we are going to give it a massive go in the next week to come back to Melbourne stronger. I am 100 per cent sure we are going to unlock that performance gap.

“I have changed my mindset, and I don’t think additional pressure on us makes it better. I can see the buzz in the organisation. You feel down but we are trying to turn that into motivation. That is why we believe we can turn it around, and I am 100 per cent sure we can.”