Lando Norris claimed a maiden pole position for Formula 1’s Russian Grand Prix, in front of Carlos Sainz and George Russell, in a wet/dry session at Sochi Autodrom.
Formula 1’s third practice session was cancelled while Formula 2 and Formula 3 have each had one of their sprint races for the weekend axed.
The medical helicopter was unable to fly while the situation was accentuated by the weather affecting the road network and the required access to Sochi Airport.
But the situation cleared in time for qualifying to begin on schedule, with drivers taking to the circuit on Intermediate tyres.
The circuit dried sufficiently for slicks to be used for the final Q3 runs and it was Norris, who had been second after the first Q3 runs and was one of the first to take on dry rubber, who thrived to grab his maiden pole position.
Norris’ time of 1:41.993s left him over half a second clear of Ferrari driver Sainz while Russell was an equally surprising third for Williams.
It marked the first pole position of Norris’ career and the first for McLaren since Brazil 2012.
Russell was the first to gamble on slick tyres in Q3 and had an extra lap compared to his rivals as he wound up a shock third.
Scruffy Hamilton squanders opportunity
Lewis Hamilton had avoided trouble in Q1 and Q2 and held provisional pole after the Intermediate runs in Q3.
But his session unravelled when he came into the pits to switch to slicks, running wide at pit entry, and clouting the wall with the left-hand-side of the car.
Hamilton was able to recover his car to the pit box but the time lost while undertaking repairs left him on the back foot when he finally got out on slick tyres.
Hamilton was not on a personal best when he spun through Turn 16, lightly hitting the barriers, though his time on Intermediates was sufficient for fourth.
Hamilton’s incident also delayed team-mate Valtteri Bottas, leaving the Finn down in seventh, behind Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso.
Lance Stroll was eighth, ahead of Sergio Perez, who was never in the mix up front, with Esteban Ocon slowest of the Q3 contenders.
AlphaTauri suffers double Q2 exit
Pierre Gasly showed strong speed on Friday, and has regularly qualified inside the top six this year, but was unable to convert that pace in the damp conditions and dropped out in 12th place, behind Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
Gasly was joined in the Q2 knockout zone by AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who was 13th.
Neither Williams’ Nicholas Latifi nor Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set a time in Q2, having safely made it through Q1.
Both have taken fresh power units ahead of the race and will therefore drop to the rear of the pack, with Latifi set to line up in front of Leclerc – and Max Verstappen – after finishing in front in Q2 through virtue of completing an installation lap.
Alfa Romeo and Haas drop out early
Kimi Räikkönen returned to Formula 1 action in Russia following his positive Covid-19 test but dropped out in Q1, while team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi spun during a fairly low-key display.
They were split by Mick Schumacher, who showed encouraging speed in spite of the limitations of Haas’ package, as he finished comfortably clear of team-mate Nikita Mazepin.
Sole home representative Mazepin was the slowest of the 19 competitors as he finished almost four seconds down on Schumacher.
Nonetheless the Alfa Romeo and Haas quartet are due to move up two spots each on the grid owing to penalties for Latifi and Leclerc.
Verstappen at the back
Red Bull opted to change Verstappen’s power unit on Friday, consigning him to a back of the grid start, meaning he headed into qualifying with nothing to fight for, having previously taken eight poles in 2021.
Championship leader Verstappen appeared on track to complete just an out-lap and in-lap before returning to the garage, bringing his session to a close.
In opting not to set a time it consigns Verstappen to 20th, behind Latifi and Leclerc.
Sunday’s 53-lap Russian Grand Prix is scheduled for 15:00 local time
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