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Charles Leclerc has taken pole position for the 2019 Russian Grand Prix, taking his fourth consecutive pole position in F1.
The Monegasque driver looked to be heading a Ferrari one-two for the start of Sunday's race before Lewis Hamilton pipped Sebastian Vettel for second in the final moments.
Vettel failed to improve on his final lap in Q3, making a mistake on the exit of Turn 5 which cost him time. Valtteri Bottas aborted his final run and ended up in fifth, behind Max Verstappen.
However, Verstappen is set to start the Grand Prix from ninth place, as he will take a grid penalty for receiving a new power unit.
The second Red Bull of Alexander Albon failed to progress from Q1, as he spun into the barriers at Turn 13 while attempting to set a hot lap.
Video: Albon crashes out of Sochi qualifying
Verstappen's penalty means Bottas will share the second row with Vettel, while Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg progress onto the third row for the start of the race.
Lando Norris held the advantage over Sainz after the first laps, however the Spaniard found time on his final lap to go less than a tenth faster than Norris.
Romain Grosjean managed to make it into Q3 and set the ninth fastest lap time, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who rounded out the top ten.
Danil Kvyat failed to take part in the session following his engine problems in P3, however he was set to start from the back of the field anyway, meaning there was no rush to change the unit.
He exited the opening session alongside Albon and the two Williams' while Kimi Raikkonen was the midfield runner that fell victim to the drop zone.
Lance Stroll made it out of Q1, however neither Racing Point could progress past the second stage. Stroll will line up in 15th, while Sergio Perez ended the session in 12th, behind Pierre Gasly.
Antonio Giovinazzi managed to out-qualify Antonio Giovinazzi once more and ended the session in 13th, ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen.
Sochi Autodrom - 28 September 2019
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
10 members have this team as their favourite
Replies (9)
Login to replyDert38
Posts: 376
Cmon vettel where your whining??? I bet you already whined about next year, because this car, best on the grid from the beginning is "bad" for you, you can't even get Hammy on it, exactly same performance as in previous seasons!
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
what are you talking about? appreciate leclerc's lap instead of bashing leclerc
emprisedll
Posts: 22
@Dert38
Why are you being nasty for no reason?
Yes Vettel should have been in P2 but he can do something in the race. He's got experience and a massive engine.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
amazing lap by leclerc
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Wow! Leclerc truly is bring out those extra .2 . 3 sec out of nowhere. We can expect more such things in coming years.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Brilliant by Leclerc. I guess I was wrong in assuming Charles wasn't their new #1 driver. He clearly is and getting better still. Some will say that Ferrari got a good car only in the second half of the season, but careful examination will show that Ferrari had a good car all year. Capable of winning no less than three races prior to the Belgium win. They could definitely by in the championship fight. But alas, it's not always about having a fast car.
That being said, Charles is much improved. He made a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the season. That's not happening anymore. If the championship started at Belgium he would be leading by a decent margin. As for Seb, he would be a brilliant #2 driver. Akin to what Rosberg was to Lewis.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
They had a good car for certain tracks. Look how soundly beaten they were in some venues. Their car was always good, but nowhere near where it is now. Of course, it's too late now, the titles are won, but it's good to see them recover.
xoya
Posts: 583
Bottas again more than half a second slower than Hamilton.
Only Grosjean and Kubica are worse than him in current championship in my honest opinion.
Kean
Posts: 692
Well let's not forget who Bottas is being compared against. Bottas is 2nd in the championship and has outqualified Hamilton 5 times, I'd say there are a few more drivers on the grid that are doing worse, Stroll comes to mind, his quali-stat is 1-15 against Perez. And let's not forget Gio and Gas, as of late they are doing better sure but they haven't exactly shone this season. That being said there are 7-8 drivers on the grid that I believe would do better in the Merc than Bottas.