THE Australian Grand Prix has RETURNED as F1 fans all over the world prepare to watch their favourite racers in action once again.
Lewis Hamilton has endured a less than ideal start to the season but still managed to secure a podium in Abu Dhabi.
But Charles Leclerc won that race, with Max Verstappen winning in Saudi Arabia, so the Brit will need to be at his absolute best this weekend to get back to winning ways.
- TV/Live stream: Sky Sports F1
- Qualifying start time: 7am BST – April 9
- Grand Prix start time: 6am BST – April 10
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Follow ALL the action from Melbourne with our live blog below…
- Ben Hunt
Q1 is done
Albon has been told to stop his Williams and switch it off. He's still on track.
A double-disappointment for Williams.
Stroll, Latifi, Vettel, Albon and Magnussen are all eliminated.
- Ben Hunt
Last push for Vettel to set a time
The German has only just made it on track after crashing in final practice.
- Ben Hunt
Session will resume with 2.01 seconds remaining
Vettel, Stroll, Latifi, Magnussen and Albon all in the drop zone.
- Ben Hunt
O Canada, O Canada!
That's a bad accident, thankfully Latifi and Stroll are both OK. Terrible awareness from Stroll who simply cut across in front of the Williams.
Fair to say, neither of these drivers have done enough to warrant their places on the grid based on the last handful of races.
- Ben Hunt
Red flag
Qualifying comes to an abrupt stop as Latifi DOES crash this time.
A ridiculous smash into Lance Stroll.
Latifi is about to start a flying lap and allows Stroll to pass. But then overtakes him but Stroll is unaware and moves across into his path.
- Ben Hunt
'Porpoising' is still a massive problem
The on-board cameras are revealing some terrible turbulence for Lewis Hamilton, who is bouncing about like a ping-pong ball at high speed.
- Ben Hunt
Leclerc sets the pace
The Ferrari man is currently in P1 from Verstappen.
- Ben Hunt
Latifi nearly crashes out
The Williams man has been prone to mistakes and he almost made a costly one there as he loses grip and spins off track.
Thankfully for him, he keeps it out of the barriers and keeps on going.
- Ben Hunt
We are GO in Melbourne for F1 qualifying
All eyes in Q1 on the likes of McLaren and Williams and Aston Martin.
- Matt Penn
The season so far…
Leclerc won in Abu Dhabi. Max was victorious in Saudi. Who's winning in Oz?
🏁 F1 2022 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
- Matt Penn
Verstappen on Ferrari vs Red Bull
"We're a tiny bit off Ferrari but I do think that we can maybe make it a little bit closer," he said on Friday.
"But they are quick again. In the long run everything looked quite stable and quite nice so I'm happy about that.
"We definitely made some good improvements today."
- Matt Penn
Hamilton & Mercedes' woes continue
Lewis spoke after FP2 on Friday and revealed that things were still yet to improve with the car ahead of this weekend's race.
He groaned: "Just nothing we change on the car makes a difference at the moment. So that's the difficult thing.
"You get in [to the track] very optimistic, make changes, and then it doesn't seem to be wanting to improve.
"So we made some changes going to P2 and it ended up being a bit harder for me. I don't know. It is just a tricky car.
"There is not a lot we can do. This is the way it is. I just have to drive with it.
"That's the frustrating thing, you're trying to push and catch and even when you do a decent lap, it's 1.2s down so it's difficult."
Credit: Alamy - Matt Penn
How to watch the Australian GP
- All the coverage from the F1 Australian Grand Prix will be shown live on Sky Sports F1.
- You can live stream the action from the Sky Go or NOW TV apps, both of which are available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
- Practice Three is at 4am BST, with qualifying starting at 7am.
- The Grand Prix starts at 6am BST on Sunday, April 10.
Welcome to the F1 Australian GP
Hello and good evening, morning or afternoon wherever you are!
We're just a few hours away from qualifying at the F1 Australian GP here at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne.
And SunSport are on hand to bring you all of the coverage as Lewis Hamilton looks to get back into some of those top spots.
The Brit finished 10th in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago but bagged a podium finish just a week before that in Abu Dhabi.
Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have been the big winners of the season so far, but Hamilton won't be giving up that easily.
So kick back and relax, we've got you covered throughout the weekend.
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