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BREAKING: Charles Leclerc takes pole in Russia!

28 September 2019 at 14:06
Last update 28 September 2019 at 14:21
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  • Adam Newton
  • Editor

Charles Leclerc took his fourth pole position in a row after yet another stunning performance for Ferrari in qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix.

He’ll be joined on the front row by Lewis Hamilton, with Sebastian Vettel making mistakes on his final lap to only manage third.

Max Verstappen qualified fourth, but has a five-place grid penalty, with Valtteri Bottas fifth.

Things didn't go so well for Verstappen's team mate Alex Albon. As he was pushing to set his first competitive lap time of Q1, the Thai driver locked up and spun at turn 13, hitting the barriers and bringing out the red flag, leaving him down in P19.

Leclerc had been the favourite all weekend, topping two of the three practice sessions and he took his momentum into Q3, setting the fastest time on the first runs and improving on his second.

Hamilton was not expected to take a sport on the front row, but a magnificent final sector and mistakes from Vettel allowed the Brit to sneak into P2

The top five were joined in Q3 by both McLarens and Renaults, along with the Haas of Romain Grosjean. Carlos Sainz qualified in sixth, followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Lando Norris, Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo.

However, all these drivers, except Ricciardo, will be boosted up one spot on the grid due to Verstappen's penalty.

Home favourite Daniil Kvyat suffered problems in FP3 and a new power unit meant he did not take part in qualifying, so will start from P20 tomorrow, albeit with a fresh engine.