Ferrari had the best shot yet of denying Red Bull a 2024 Formula 1 pole position in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, but in the end Max Verstappen topped the Q3 shootout to claim a third-straight pole at the start of the season.
But what looked like a very good day for Red Bull was dampened slightly when third-place qualifier Sergio Perez received a three-place grid drop for impeding Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.
With that in mind, here's how the revised Australian GP grid looks:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
3 Lando Norris (McLaren)
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
7 George Russell (Mercedes)
8 Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
9 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
11 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
12 Alex Albon (Williams)
13 Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
14 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
15 Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
17 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
18 Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
19 Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
Perez's penalty promotes Lando Norris to third on the starting grid, and the McLaren will be joined on the second row by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc - who had topped the second and third practice sessions in Melbourne.
His is the second SF-24 in the order, as Carlos Sainz - on his return following his appendectomy on the Saudi Arabian GP weekend a fortnight ago - ran Verstappen closest in the final part of qualifying and will start second.
Oscar Piastri also moves up a spot to fifth at Perez's expense. He was underwhelmed by his result but fared considerably better than fellow home hero Daniel Ricciardo, who had his final Q1 lap deleted for exceeding track limits and was eliminated as a result.
But there was better news on the other side of the garage. Yuki Tsunoda's efforts to haul the RB into Q3 for a second race weekend in a row were rewarded with eighth on the grid as he outqualified the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Tsunoda's lap to make Q3 played a role in Lewis Hamilton missing out on a spot. The seven-time F1 world champion will line up 11th, four places behind team-mate George Russell - who beat Hamilton to the final place in Q3.
Esteban Ocon hauled the beleaguered Alpine team into Q2 for the first time this season but 15th was the extent of his progress. He will share row eight with Hulkenberg, who was disgruntled to have been impeded by Perez but did not feel that was the sole reason for his Q1 exit as it occurred on his first run.
Zhou Guanyu - whose front wing broke during a Q1 lap - will start 19th for Sauber, which is the last spot on the grid for the Australian GP. That is because Williams elected to stand Logan Sargeant down and hand his car over to Alex Albon, whose accident in first practice on Friday ruled the team's only other chassis out of competition.
Albon qualified 12th.
