Leclerc seals fourth pole position in a row as Hamilton finishes second to split the Ferraris in Russian GP qualifying
CHARLES LECLERC claims fourth consecutive pole position in Sochi to match Michael Schumacher’s record.
Lewis Hamilton put in a sensational lap to take second to join Leclerc on the front row as he split the Ferraris.
A mistake on the last lap from Sebastian Vettel sees him start third ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.
Leclerc was three years old when Schumacher became the last driver to record four pole positions for Ferrari.
He said: “The car felt amazing. It definitely feels great to be back on pole but I don’t know if it’s the best track to start on pole, the straight is very long after the start.
“The start will be very important as always but here probably even more because of the straight length. “It definitely feels very, very special [four poles in a row].
“But I don’t really want to think about those stats for now. I just want to focus on the job and there’s definitely a long way to go tomorrow.”
Meanwhile Hamilton was ecstatic with his flying lap to disrupt Ferraris recent dominance.
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The Brit added: “It was a tough qualifying session because these guys [Ferrari] have some crazy speeds on the straights. They go to another level. That party mode you spoke about us having, they have something else beyond that – jet mode.
“I gave it absolutely everything I had at the end and the team did a great job just to tinker and push forwards.
“I’m so glad it came together – I wasn’t expecting to get on the front row, that’s for sure. I’m really, really happy with it.”