WATCH: Ride onboard with Verstappen for his charging pole position lap in Melbourne

Max Verstappen stormed to pole position with an impressive performance during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, taking full advantage of Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez’s early exit.

After Perez locked up at Turn 3, beached his car in the gravel and dropped out in Q1, it was the reigning double world champion who took pole by working his way down to a time of 1m 16.732s in the decisive top-10 shootout.

READ MORE: Verstappen claims first ever Melbourne pole as Russell bags front row start

Verstappen’s nearest challenger was George Russell, who pipped Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to a spot on the front row, as the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Ferrari of Carlos Sainz completed the top five places.

Hit go on the video player above to ride onboard with Verstappen for his pole-setting lap at Albert Park.