Leclerc grabs fourth pole in a row, equals Schumacher
Charles Leclerc became the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher to take four pole positions in a row on Saturday in a Russian Grand Prix qualifying session that bridged the generations.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton joined the Monegasque, who was three years old when Schumacher racked up four successive poles in 2000, on the front row with Mercedes unable to match Ferrari’s pace but on a different tyre strategy.
Leclerc, 21, has now out-qualified his four-times world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel, who starts in third place after winning in Singapore last weekend, for nine successive races.
The youngster was not about to get carried away, however, after his sixth pole of the season and his career.
“The car felt amazing. It definitely feels great to be back on pole but I don’t know if it’s the best track to start on pole,” said Leclerc after lapping the Olympic Park circuit in one minute 31.628 seconds on the fastest softcompound tyres.
“It definitely feels very special but I don’t really want to think about those stats for now, I just want to focus on the job,” said the youngster when spoken of in the same breath as seven-time world champion Schumacher.
“There’s still a long way to go tomorrow (Sunday), we’ve been competitive all weekend long and the race simulation seems positive too. It’s looking good.”
Hamilton had been third behind the two Ferraris after the first flying laps of the final shootout session but the man who has more career poles than any driver still lifted himself on to the front row with slower, medium tyres.
His time was 0.4 seconds off Leclerc’s best but denied Ferrari a front-row sweep by 0.023 ahead of a race that has only ever been won by Mercedes since it first appeared on the calendar in 2014.
“It was a tough qualifying session because these guys have some crazy speeds on the straights,” said the five-time champion after ending up in a Ferrari sandwich.
“They go to another level. You know that whole ‘party mode’ you talked about us having? They have something else beyond that— jet mode.