Fabio Quartararo has "more to lose, but a lot to gain" after qualifying fifth for the Australian Grand Prix as he bids to preserve his slender advantage over Francesco Bagnaia.
Quartararo arrived at Phillip Island with a two-point lead over Bagnaia in the MotoGP world championship, which he is seeking to defend after prevailing in 2021.
The Frenchman has just one podium finish in the last seven races. Bagnaia, by contrast, has six, including four wins.
And the Monster Energy Yamaha rider will be behind his title rival on the grid after qualifying fifth for Sunday's race, with Bagnaia on the front row in third for Ducati.
Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin took pole by breaking Jorge Lorenzo's lap record, which had stood since 2013, with a time of one minute and 27.767 seconds.
Marc Marquez pipped Bagnaia to second, while Aleix Esparagaro, not out of the title fight himself as he trails Quartararo by 20 points with three races left, was fourth. Johann Zarco rounded off the second row in sixth.
"I'm satisfied about my qualifying but frustrated about the position,” Quartararo said. "I felt I made a really great lap, but it is never enough. I feel like for the pace, we are not too bad, so just frustrated a little bit about qualifying.
"It's not a disaster because I feel quite okay and for me the front two rows is the main thing. Here will be a strange race because I think everyone has a lot of tyre consumption.
"I think it's one of the worst tracks for it during all the year. With the soft, you can go much faster. But after a few laps you drop so much and are much slower. So it's going to be interesting. Not the best for us, because we need to make corner speed on the exit. But it's going to be a great challenge.
"Pecco [Bagnaia] is really fast. But I think we are fast. Many riders have a good pace. So, I think it can be a usual Phillip Island race – apart from last time [2019] where really Marc and Maverick went away – so I think it will be a quite interesting race.
"Of course there is more to gain and more to lose [now]. But what should you do if you have only two points? You have to go and give your best. At the end, you have more to lose, but a lot to gain, so you need to push yourself to the maximum."
Bagnaia is not anticipating a challenge from Aprilia's Espargaro but believes the opening laps will be tricky for him to navigate.
"In the first laps it will be very tough to be competitive and to not lose performance," said the Italian. "Many riders, also from the rear [of the field], will push, and the rear tyre will drop a lot.
"It will be important to be intelligent in the first few laps. I think that Marc, Jorge, Fabio can be very competitive. I think, in this moment, Aleix is not as competitive as the riders I said."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) 1:27.767
2. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.013s
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.186s
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.190s
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.206s
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.240s
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing) +0.262s
8. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.349s
9. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) +0.418s
10. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +0.774s
11. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +0.966s
12. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.998s
Rosberg backs Hamilton and Leclerc battle after surprise Ferrari switch
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc riding for Ferrari will be "great to watch", according to Nico Rosberg, who expects a "tough battle" between two Formula One drivers on a similar level.
Mercedes and Hamilton will part ways after 12 seasons together as the seven-time world champion prepares to join Ferrari.
Leclerc got the nod ahead of current team-mate Carlos Sainz to remain with the Italian team, with the Ferrari driver ready to join forces with Hamilton in 2025.
"We're all looking forward to that dynamic," Rosberg, who partnered Hamilton at Mercedes from 2013 to 2016, told Sky Sports.
"Charles doesn't seem like someone who goes into conflict too much with his team-mate, so that will make it easier, maybe it won't be too extremely spicy."
Hamilton has failed to finish ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell in any of his first five 2024 grand prixs.
Yet Rosberg has no doubt over his quality, nor his soon-to-be partner Leclerc, who he ranks just behind Max Verstappen.
"Charles is probably the second-best qualifier out there after Max Verstappen, one could possibly say at the moment, so it will be a tough battle for both," Rosberg added.
"I think the level could be pretty similar, so it will be great to watch."
Ferrari's decision to move on from Sainz may come as somewhat of a surprise, given the team have featured on the podium at four of the five races this season.
Whereas Hamilton's switch comes after Mercedes failed to engineer a car capable of competing with the likes of Red Bull, though choosing Ferrari caught the eye.
"It came as a huge surprise," Rosberg said. "No one expected it. But If you look at the grand scheme of things, then why not?
"It's towards the end of his career. They are two legendary teams and I know Lewis has always been a big fan of Ferrari, so why not make that switch and have a different experience of driving in red once?
"At the moment, it seems in performance terms to be the right decision for him, which maybe he's made an amazing move like he did 12 years ago by moving from McLaren for Mercedes.
"McLaren was winning races and Mercedes was nowhere, and the moment he moved, McLaren went backwards and Mercedes started winning races. Maybe he can get the same timing done again."
Christian Horner denies Formula One is ‘boring’ with Max Verstappen’s dominance
Christian Horner has knocked back criticism that Max Verstappen’s stranglehold on Formula One is “boring” by describing his star driver’s unstoppable form as a “golden moment”.
Verstappen claimed his fourth win from the five rounds so far this season with a commanding drive at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix to establish a 25-point championship lead.
The Dutch driver has failed to triumph at only two of the last 23 races staged in the sport, and he is the overwhelming favourite to secure a fourth world crown in as many seasons.
Speaking prior to Sunday’s race, Lando Norris, who finished runner-up to Verstappen in Shanghai, admitted that seeing the “same driver win without a fight is boring”, and a “turn-off” for fans.
But addressing claims that Verstappen’s dominance is damaging the sport, Red Bull team principal Horner said: “You have to appreciate success. Max is a special talent and this is a golden moment for him.
“As we have seen with every single driver in the past, it doesn’t last forever. It is about enjoying the moment and being in the moment and there are no guarantees we can give him a car like this for the next five years.
“Max is just a metronome. The pace he showed last year, he has continued that through.
“And since the last Chinese Grand Prix in 2019, he has won 50 per cent of all the races. He has won 21 out of the last 23 races. He is in fantastic form, at one with the car and the team and enjoying his racing.”
Verstappen also won the first sprint round of the season in Shanghai.
The dash to the chequered flag took place before qualifying for Sunday’s main event in a rejig this year.
Verstappen, 26, has often criticised the format, and although he agreed the new schedule is better than in previous years, he urged F1 bosses not to increase the number of sprints – which is set at six this season.
“The sprint format was more straightforward that it has been but let’s not overdo it,” said the triple world champion.
“We are already doing 24 races in a season and six of these sprint events, too. I guess it sells better and the television audience numbers increase, but it also increases the pressure on the mechanics to ensure everything is tip-top.
“So, we have to deal with it, but let’s not now think that we need 12 of these (sprints) because it will take its toll on people in the sport.”
Toto Wolff hopeful Lewis Hamilton’s morale will not plummet after bad start
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is confident Lewis Hamilton’s morale will not plummet despite his continued worst start to a Formula One season.
Hamilton fought back from his lowly 18th grid slot to finish ninth in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.
But the British driver, in his final season with Mercedes before his blockbuster transfer to Ferrari, leaves Shanghai only ninth in the standings after failing to finish inside the top six at either of the opening five rounds.
Indeed, Sunday’s result marked the third time he has crossed the line in ninth this year. Hamilton also trails team-mate George Russell 5-0 in qualifying.
But Wolff said: “Lewis is a pro and he has behaved that way, trying to keep his morale up and the morale of the team up, even if the results have not come his way. I have no doubt this will last.”
Hamilton has now gone 50 races and 868 long days without a victory and he was exposed to yet another sobering afternoon in his uncompetitive Mercedes.
Following his worst qualifying result in seven years, Hamilton started on the quickest, but less-durable soft rubber, but just two laps into this 56-lap affair, his complaints began.
“I am making no ground on this tyre,” he said after dropping from 18th to 19th.
Hamilton made the first of his two pit-stops on lap nine and rejoined back in 19th, 53 seconds off Max Verstappen’s leading pace.
“That was the worst tyre, man,” said the despondent 39-year-old.
Hamilton was soon back on the intercom. “I can’t even catch him (Alpine’s Esteban Ocon), man,” he said. “This car is so slow.”
Hamilton’s fortunes improved on lap 21 when he stopped for a second time, with the virtual safety car (VSC) deployed after Valtteri Bottas broke down.
And as the marshals struggled to shift Bottas’ stricken Stake, the VSC was upgraded to a full safety car, promoting Hamilton up the order.
He would be 12th at the restart, but he was still bemused by his unruly machine.
“The car is just sliding around everywhere,” he said. “It just feels like something is broken. It is really bad.”
Daniel Ricciardo suffered floor damage after Lance Stroll thumped into the back of his RB, elevating Hamilton into 10th before he swatted Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg aside.
Hamilton was then up to eighth as Fernando Alonso made a maverick third stop for tyres. But the 42-year-old took advantage of his fresh rubber to blast back through the field, relegating Hamilton back a place with seven laps remaining.
The seven-time champion took the chequered flag nearly one minute behind Verstappen.
“This is the worst season so far, as I mentioned at the last race,” said Hamilton. “It definitely wasn’t better than expected because we expected to finish there today.
“I have never had so much understeer in my life. I thought I damaged my car because there was debris on the track at one point, but it was just the way I set the car up.
“We finished second in the sprint race yesterday and, with better decisions on setup today, we would have been where George finished. We have to keep fighting.”
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