2022 F1 Australian GP: Qualifying Predictions

With both the practice sessions of the Australian GP out of the way, we have a clearer picture of what the pecking order might look like at Albert Park. Having said that, there are still some variables that could make things interesting and bring in a factor of uncertainty to the Australian GP. This is exactly what makes the predictions the most intriguing part of the weekend, but here we are.

---

Predictions for 2022 F1 Australian GP Qualifying

Disappointment of the session (Team)

To be honest, the performances this weekend might not be much of a variation from the first two races of the season. The underperforming Aston Martin, however, is starting to catch the eye of F1 fans. Sebastian Vettel's return to F1 after a COVID-induced mini-hiatus lasted around 45-50 mins before his engine cried enough.

What was alarming was the lack of operational dexterity shown by the Silverstone-based outfit. The team was unable to replace the old power unit and replace it with a new one even after 3 hours.

Aston Martin has been the 9th fastest challenger on the grid this season. It wouldn't be surprising if we see both the Aston Martin drivers knocked out in Q1.

Disappointment of the session (Driver)

It might seem like there is a pattern here, but trust us, there isn't. Lance Stroll's position in the team is starting to get questioned more and more. The driver was, if we are fair, not as impressive as his previous counterpart, who was asked to race without testing the car or even racing for the last 18 months.

Sebastian Vettel, on his return from COVID, was able to match Stroll for pace in FP1 today despite missing the last two races. Somewhere down the line, it does appear that the Canadian has maxed out in terms of his ceiling as a driver and is somewhat getting exposed by his teammates, present and former.

For the Australian GP qualifying, we expect Sebastian Vettel to outqualify Lance Stroll.

Surprise of the session (Driver)

Whether Fernando Alonso admits it or not, he is surely seething underneath that ice-cold demeanor of his. The Spaniard was spectacularly outraced by his teammate in Bahrain. Then, in Saudi Arabia, when Alonso appeared to hold the edge over his teammate, all of a sudden the Alpine gave up and he had to retire.

To make things worse, Ocon ended up scoring a good chunk of points while Alonso had a zero next to his name. As the circus reaches the Australian GP, watch out for the Spaniard. He is a legend of the sport and one can expect him to pull something special out of the bag this weekend.

Surprise of the session (Team)

In continuation with what we've said about the Alpine driver, watch out for Alpine as well during the Australian GP qualifying. The top two teams in terms of pace are not changing anytime soon. Mercedes is also not the most comfortable team at the Australian GP, being on the back foot for now. The lap time produced by Alonso in FP2, however, was very impressive, even though done on a higher engine mode.

The Alpine looks like a very impressive piece of machinery at the moment and we might see Alonso and Ocon make a few giant-killing moves during qualifying.

Top 3 in qualifying

It's hard to look beyond the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers this season. When picking the top 3, however, we're going to leave out Sergio Perez. The Ferrari looks like the better car on a single lap at the moment, so we're picking Max Verstappen to qualify third.

Carlos Sainz has been on the pace this weekend so we could see him play spoilsport. When push comes to shove, however, it's very hard to look beyond Charles Leclerc. So, in our prediction, we have Leclerc on Pole, Sainz on P2, and Verstappen on P3.