Russia – First career pole for Norris, Hamilton trapped

At the end of a thrilling Q3 where all the drivers abandoned the intermediate tires for the soft ones in the last 5 minutes, it is Lando Norris (McLaren) who performed best to take pole position for the Russian Grand Prix, the first of his career!

Under the threat of elimination in Q2, the young Englishman scared himself but managed to put in a very good last lap to secure his ticket for Q3. If the Mercedes started as the favorites for this last part of qualifying, the McLaren driver showed great maturity to take all his comrades by surprise. While George Russell (Williams) was the first to switch to the soft tires, Lando Norris did not hesitate for a single second to imitate him and then pulled out all the stops. On an increasingly dry track, the Briton took the time to mount his tires in temperature to achieve an incredible final lap in 1'41"993 to give McLaren its first pole since Lewis Hamilton in Brazil in 2012.

🔥🔥 Pole for Norris! 🔥🔥
🔥🔥 Russell P3 ahead of Hamilton! 🔥🔥

A completely “sobbed” end to Q3 😱 #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/2eFjW6mlE5

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 25, 2021

Author of the best time in Q1 and Q2 and in the lead for a long time in Q3, the last city was finally trapped in the last moments of these qualifications. Equipped with a new front wing after hitting the pit wall and fitting his set of soft tires, the seven-time world champion was unable to do anything as the track conditions changed considerably. In the panic, the Englishman was not able to improve his mark recorded a few minutes earlier, settling for 4th time behind George Russell (Williams), his future teammate, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), authors of beautiful latest attempts launched, and therefore Lando Norris.

#RussianGP

Hamilton hitting the wall at the entrance to the pit lane! 💥

▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/a8RNdUwdFQ

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 25, 2021

Very lively on the circuit where he scored his first success in F1 since the start of the weekend, Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) disappointed at the most important moment of the day. Systematically ranked behind Lewis Hamilton in Q1 and Q2, the Finn did not respond in Q3, only setting the 7th fastest time, 2″7 behind the day’s benchmark. Enough to feed regrets when all the ingredients were there for at least a first line.

Eager to compete in the qualifications in these conditions, Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) was ultimately unable to put all the elements one behind the other to fight for pole. Embarrassed in Q2 and unhappy with his team's choices, the Norman finished at the gates of Q3 with the 12th fastest time. The reassembled operation awaits him this Sunday.

Penalized even before departure, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took no risks this Saturday, contenting himself with only a reconnaissance lap in Q1 before getting out of his RB16B. Also condemned from the back of the grid for using their 4th power unit, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Nicholas latifi (Williams) went as far as Q2 but did not set a time thereafter. They will start 19th and 18th respectively.