Max Verstappen is poised to match a record with ten consecutive victories after securing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix in his Red Bull.

Verstappen faced a challenge from Ferrari, threatening his dominance. However, in front of a record Saturday crowd at Melbourne’s Albert Park of nearly 131,000, Verstappen solidified his position, beating Carlos Sainz by 0.270 seconds. Sainz, who missed the last race in Saudi Arabia due to appendicitis, delivered an impressive performance.

Lewis Hamilton, with a record eight pole positions in Melbourne, suffered a setback, finishing 11th, his lowest starting position in 14 years. He failed to progress to Q3, trailing George Russell by a mere 0.059 seconds.

Russell, who will start seventh, continued his qualifying dominance over Hamilton, with a 3-0 lead. Hamilton, set to depart Mercedes at season’s end for Ferrari, faced a disappointing qualifying session.

Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, secured third place, followed by Lando Norris of McLaren and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who aborted his final lap due to an error.

Having won the last nine races, Verstappen enters Sunday’s 58-lap race as the overwhelming favorite to secure another victory and match his record.

Verstappen commented, “It was a bit unexpected today, but I am very happy with Q3. Both of my laps felt nice and enjoyable. It was a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end.”

Sainz, recovering from emergency surgery to remove his appendix just two weeks ago, expressed his surprise at his front-row position, saying, “I almost didn’t believe it… I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done. I have a lot of wired feelings, but no pain, so I will go flatout.”

Daniel Ricciardo faced disappointment as his best lap was deleted in Q1, relegating him to second-to-last on the grid. The stewards penalized him for running off the track at Turn 5. Ricciardo will start ahead of only Zhou Guanyu.

The field was reduced to 19 drivers after Alex Albon’s Williams was deemed irreparable following a practice crash on Friday. Albon qualified 12th, stepping into teammate Logan Sargeant’s car for the race.