Hamilton gets scared but snatches pole in Sochi ahead of Verstappen

As usual, he will not have panicked. While the seconds were ticking inexorably towards 0 in Q2 and he still had not recorded a single time, Lewis Hamilton had the presence of mind to carve out a small space to launch his flying trick. It was clearly not the most brilliant of his illustrious career but the attempt was more than enough to reach Q3. 

How does the pilot Mercedes had he found himself in such a bind? Hamilton had set a good first time in Q2 but his mark was canceled for non-compliance with the track limits. 

Setting out again to attack the time, the Briton was unable to complete this new lap due to a red flag, waved following an exit from the track. Sebastian Vettel at turn 4. The driver Ferrari had already almost lost control of his SF1000 at turn 2 before spinning a few hectometers further, under the nose of his teammate Charles Leclerc, who narrowly avoided it.  

There were then 2'15 left before the end of Q2. Hamilton was forced to swap his mediums for a set of softs with which he will have to start on Sunday. Forced to perform a fast launch lap to start his flying lap before the timer expired, the Mercedes driver was surprised at turn 2 on cold tires, which forced him to accelerate the pace even more. At the start of the last corner, Hamilton was slowed down by a Renault but he was still able to cut the line in time at the last minute.

In Q3, the Mercedes driver was never worried, his two attempts proving sufficient to win the 96th pole of his career, the 8th in 10 sessions this season. The disappointment once again comes from his teammate Valtteri Bottas, very lively in free practice on Friday and still on pace in the first two segments of qualifying. 

In the end, the bill is steep since Hamilton, with a record time of 1'31''304, is more than six tenths behind the Finn, only 3rd. Because this devil Max Verstappen manages to get between the Mercedes, while the Red Bull hadn't seemed very dashing until then. The Dutchman is just over half a second behind the poleman. 

Behind the leading trio, Sergio Pérez proves that he does not need the new Racing Point aerodynamic package to shine and take the 4th fastest time, a breath ahead Daniel Ricciardo, which we expected almost higher as the Australian from Renault seems at ease since the start of the weekend. 

Carlos Sainz signs the 6th beat, in front Esteban Ocon (Renault), while Lando Norris (McLaren), Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) and Alexander albon (Red Bull) complete the Top 10. 

The Bérézina continues for Ferrari in 2020 with no cars in Q3, even if Leclerc comes close to reaching the final phase of qualifying. The Monegasque, 11th, is ahead of the regional rider Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri), Lance stroll (Racing Point), who was unable to complete his last flying lap, George Russell (Williams), present in Q2 for the 6th time in 10 race weekends, and an injured Vettel but good for service on Sunday. 

Having struggled since the start of the weekend, Romain Grosjean comes away with honors and 16th time. The pilot Haas is accompanied in the first cart of Q1 by Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), who has never reached Q2 this season, his teammate Kevin Magnussen, and the Williams of Nicholas latifi, who has never yet managed to beat Russell on Saturday afternoon. 

As he prepares to equal Rubens Barrichello's career starts record (322), Kimi Räikkönen will start dead last. The Finn aborted his final flying lap after a setback at turn 2. 

Sunday is another record that could be equaled, Hamilton being only one length behind 91 victories of Michael Schumacher. The Mercedes driver, however, expects to suffer due to his soft tires at the start, also knowing that the long period of full load which opens the Sochi tour could allow his opponents to benefit from a good aspiration to attack him at the turn 2. But the six-time world champion proved once again this Saturday that he had resources. 

Last detail which is not one: Hamilton was summoned to the marshals at 17:15 p.m. local time (16:15 p.m. in France) for his off-track excursion at turn 2 at the end of Q2. We could therefore witness yet another twist in a day already rich in emotions.

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION

Max splits the Mercedes pair with a last-waste effort to sixteen P2#RussianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/RTjfHthZYT

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2020