Verstappen will start ahead of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez after the one-hour qualifying session, which was split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Australian Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Sainz
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q1?
Sainz set the pace in the first part of qualifying, leading Red Bull duo Perez and Verstappen on hard tyres.
Falling at the first hurdle were Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Zhou Guanyu (Sauber). Logan Sargeant didn’t take part in qualifying, with Alex Albon taking over his car after a crash on Friday morning damaged his chassis.
Australian GP Q1 results: Sainz fastest from Perez
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q2?
Ferrari remained quickest in Q2, with Sainz again topping the charts and Leclerc moving up to second. Verstappen was two tenths off the pace in third, as Red Bull continued to lag behind on medium tyres.
Knocked out at this point were Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Alex Albon (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).
Australian GP Q2 results: Sainz fastest from Leclerc
What happened in Australian Grand Prix Q3?
On his first run, Verstappen set a benchmark of 1m16.048s to put Red Bull on top and reverse the trend seen in practice and the first two legs of qualifying. Sainz held second place, three tenths down on Verstappen.
As the second runs began, Verstappen improved to a 1m15.915s, granting him a third consecutive pole of 2024. Sainz couldn’t even break the 1m16s barrier as he ended up second, while Perez showed vastly improved form to take third.
Leclerc was only classified fifth, behind the top McLaren of Lando Norris.