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Qualifying Stats: Fourth straight pole a first for Ferrari since Schumacher ‘01
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Charles Leclerc grabbed the qualifying headlines in Russia. But what were the headline stats from Saturday’s session in Sochi?
- The last time a Ferrari driver took 4 straight poles (Michael Schumacher, 2000/01), Leclerc was 3 years old.
- Sebastian Vettel has been out-qualified by Ferrari team mate Leclerc at all 9 races since he lost victory in Montreal.
- By taking second to Valtteri Bottas’s fifth, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton out-qualified a team mate in Sochi for the first time in 5 years.
- Even with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull grid penalty lifting him to fourth, this will be Bottas's worst-ever starting position in Russia.
- Thanks to his penalty, Verstappen will still never have started in the top 6 in Sochi.
- At Alfa Romeo, Antonio Giovinazzi has now been knocked out in Q2 for 7 consecutive races. On the plus side he has out-qualified veteran team mate Kimi Raikkonen in successive races.
- Carlos Sainz will be fifth on the grid for McLaren, tying his career-best starting position, as previously achieved in Spain 2015 and Hungary 2018.
- Raikkonen went out in Q1 for only the 2nd time in the last 4 and a half years – the other time was Montreal this year.
- His early crash meant Alex Albon’s first Q1 elimination since joining Red Bull – it was his 3rd of the season overall.
- At Williams, rookie George Russell out-qualified Robert Kubica for the 16th consecutive race.
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