Berlin: Lando Norris of McLaren secured a first ever career F1pole position in wet conditions on Saturday for the Russian FormulaOne Grand Prix.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was only fourth,while championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull will startSunday’s race from the back of the grid due to a power unit change.
Briton Norris set the best time of 1 minute 41.993 seconds around the5.848-kilometre Sochi Autodrom.
He was followed by Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, 0.517 second behind, andWilliams’ George Russell in third.
The trio benefited from early tyre changes in Q3, when the track wasalready fit for slick tyres, therefore giving drivers a better grip.
Norris, who was second in Monza two weeks ago, was speechless afterhis maiden pole position.
“You never think you’re going to get a pole until you actually do it,but here we are. I have to thank the team so much,” he said.
Sainz will be Ferrari’s major hope for points as Charles Leclerc willalso start from the back of the grid as he like Verstappen is servinga penalty due to too many engine changes.
“I put in a pretty strong lap,” Sainz said. “This weekend we’ve beenlooking a bit stronger. We will put on a fight [in the race] and tryto have some fun.”
Russell, meanwhile, has been enjoying the best period of his careerso far. After securing his maiden points for Williams in Hungary inAugust and a podium at the Belgium Grand Prix – despite no real racedue to weather conditions – he was the first to gamble with the softrubber in Q3.
“It’s crazy [getting P3]. The team have done a great job, getting thestrategy right and putting the right tyres on at the right time,”said Russell, who will join Mercedes next year.
His future team-mate Hamilton hit the wall coming into the pits for atyre change and then spun during his last lap, missing the chance toimprove his time.
Earlier on Saturday, the third and final practice session wascancelled due to heavy rain in Sochi.
Verstappen and Leclerc didn’t finish the qualifying session.Vertappen abandoned it in Q1 and Leclerc in Q2, therefore avoidingany possible car damage due to the wet and slippery track conditions.
Even thought he didn’t set a time, the Dutchman will be allowed torace as the 107 per cent rule doesn’t apply in wet conditions. Therule states that a driver is not allowed to race if he fails toqualify within 107 per cent of the fastest time of the session. — dpa
