Leclerc bests Vettel, Hamilton to take Russia pole
Leclerc bests Vettel, Hamilton to take Russia pole
Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the fourth race in a row, beating Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton to P1 at the Russian Grand Prix.
The Scuderia have been in a class of their own all weekend, having won the last three races.
Leclerc has been the man in top form, despite Vettel's victory in Singapore, and he is the first driver other than Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to take four consecutive pole positions in the V6 Hybrid era.
Hamilton managed to sneak second place from Vettel for the second race running, and will start the race on harder tyres than Ferrari to prompt an interesting strategy battle, but the Silver Arrows' 100 per cent winning record in Sochi appears set to fall come Sunday.
Vettel's inability to lock out the front row alongside Leclerc may be a concern for Ferrari, although the chances of the German picking up a slipstream off the line could undo the damage.
Max Verstappen qualified quicker than Valtteri Bottas in fourth, but he will drop to P9 on the grid after taking a new engine into this weekend. His Red Bull team-mate Alexander Albon went out in Q1 after crashing.
Carlos Sainz once again took best of the rest for McLaren on the day the team announced they will split from Renault in 2021, with the French team's Nico Hulkenberg and Lando Norris immediately behind. Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo round out the top 10.
Q2
Just two tenths of a second separated Carlos Sainz in eighth with Kevin Magnussen in 14th as the margins to make the top 10 proved wafer-thin. The Dane was on the wrong side of the ledger alongside Antonio Giovinazzi, Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly, who has a penalty coming. Lance Stroll was a few tenths further back from those he went out with.
Q1
Albon spun into the barriers at Turn 13, damaging his rear-end to likely bring on further penalties than the five-place grid drop he entered the weekend with. Daniil Kvyat did not take part after an engine issue in FP3, with Kimi Raikkonen going out alongside the Williams pair of Robert Kubica and George Russell, who qualified over a second quicker than his team-mate.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 legend reveals flood of death threats
- 1 hour ago
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- Yesterday 22:57
McLaren leading fight for HUGE cash injection
- Yesterday 21:57
Newey set to announce STUNNING Red Bull departure
- Yesterday 17:57
Newey Red Bull exit wish CONFIRMED as F1 guru's reasons revealed
- Yesterday 20:57
Related news
F1 calendar shortened: Is it right to decide against replacing Russian Grand Prix?
F1 decide NOT to replace axed Russian Grand Prix
Schumacher 'hopes and prays' for Ukraine after Russian GP axe
McLaren insist dropped Russian GP was "untenable"
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860