'Disappointed, unexpected, tough' - Top drivers reflect on Australian GP qualifying

Max Verstappen took an empathic pole position in qualifying for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix - his first at the venue.

Having been on the pace throughout the weekend, the Red Bull driver looked to be under threat from the Mercedes-AMG duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, but he turned a deficit into an advantage to snatch the position from both Silver Arrows drivers.

It was a calculated final run for the defending champion as he secured his maiden pole position Down Under.

"I think the last run was very good. The whole weekend has been tough to get the tyres in the right window," said Verstappen, who has never won in Australia.

"Very happy to be on pole, already looking forward to [the race]. I think we have a good race car, but it is tricky on the tyres, so going to be an interesting race for sure."

The Mercs are shining

Qualifying around Albert Park was a positive turn of fortunes for the Mercedes-AMG team. Coming from two underwhelming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the team looked good in the cool Australian conditions, displacing the on-fire Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

"What a session for us. The car felt alive, and to be honest, I'm disappointed I didn't get pole as the car felt awesome," Russell said.

"We are learning more and more about the car. It's still not where we want it to be, but it's evolved from Bahrain to Jeddah to here."

Hamilton, who's had a tough 2022 and spilling into '23, was more than happy qualifying in third and praised his team for not giving up.

"I'm so happy with this. This is totally unexpected - just really proud of the team," said the seven-time F1 champion.

"It's a dream for us; to be this close to the Red Bull is incredible. We hope to give them a