Qualifying down under at Albert Park finished with three-time world champion Max Verstappen leading Carlos Sainz and teammate Sergio Perez.
The big shock was Lewis Hamilton, who was knocked out in Q2 after a blazing lap from Lance Stroll. The Mercedes drivers have both been complaining about their brakes and rear grip.
Oscar Piastri, who was born in Melbourne, had a strong afternoon to finish sixth, but he was still two places behind his teammate, Lando Norris.
The other Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo, had a day to forget after his lap was deleted and he was knocked out in Q1. This is the first time he has been out in Q1 in his home race.
Here's a detailed rundown of each session:
Q1
The drivers were out bright and early in a warmer session compared to FP3. They wanted to get clean laps under their belt after a tricky morning session.
Alex Albon, who is driving his teammate's car this weekend, was first out to set a lap, but his time was quickly deleted.
Max Verstappen's first lap was only four tenths ahead of Kevin Magnussen's Haas, proving their car is still not suited to this track. They were struggling all weekend for consistent laps.
Charles Leclerc, who topped FP3, swiftly beat Verstappen's time on his first run with a 1:17.244. With fast laps all weekend, there was discussion of a front row start for the Maranello team.
Fernando Alonso surprised us all when he topped the times halfway through the session with a 1:16.991, before Carlos Sainz and Leclerc overtook him back.
Like practice, Mercedes driver George Russell complained about his front brakes as he crossed the line for 10th, one position behind his teammate with five minutes to go.
With two minutes left, Pierre Gasly crossed the pit lane exit, again showing the low sun of Australia makes it extremely difficult for the drivers to see.
A fabulous lap by Esteban Ocon took him out of Q1, Alpine rejoicing at something finally going their way.
In the end, it was Sainz, Sergio Perez, and Verstappen who finished at the top. The top time was a 1:16.731.
Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo and Guanyu were knocked out of this session. Visa RB team principal Laurent Mekies saying: "Ricciardo'll still show something off tomorrow."
Q2
The Ferrari drivers were out first in Q2 at the Aussie GP. Sainz set a 1:16.6 to start the session before Max Verstappen set a 1:16.387. The Dutchman has a new power unit for this weekend.
The crowd went wild for Oscar Piastri's first lap which put him second.
Soft tires went onto both Ferraris halfway through the session, with track temperature rising to 34C. Sainz used these to set a 1:16.1, putting him on provisional pole.
Another strong lap by Alonso put him seventh. It was exactly 21 years to the day since he started on pole at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix.
With 1:30 left, Albon stayed in the garage as everyone started their final run. The Williams team wanted to save tires and try to score points tomorrow.
A fast lap by Lance Stroll knocked Lewis Hamilton out of Q3, a massive shock for the British driver.
Again, Sainz had the fastest lap, followed by Leclerc and Verstappen. The bottom five were Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Lewis Hamilton.
Q3
It was again Q2 winner Carlos Sainz first out int he session, setting a 1:16.331.
Seemingly in rhythm, Verstappen again overtook him to take provisional pole with a 1:16.0.
Fernando Alonso countered oversteer but kept the car out the wall. The Spaniard pitted straight after, but there was minimal damage to the floor.
With two minutes to the end, the final runs were starting amongst the ducks that had settled on the circuit. A four way battle ensued between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.
Verstappen was the driver to come out on top as Carlos Sainz beat Sergio Perez to come second. He had an average lap speed of over 250 km/h.
Fourth went to Lando Norris ahead of Charles Leclerc, who pulled into the pits before completing the lap. Local hero Oscar Piastri starts sixth.
The only Mercedes driver in Q3, George Russell qualified seventh with Yuki Tsunoda following him and the Aston Martin drivers closing out the top ten.