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If Hamilton also won the race on Sunday (1:10 pm, live on ORF1 and on the live stream), he would hit a record high. The 35-year-old Briton currently has 90 GP victories, and with another he would set Michael Schumacher’s Formula 1 victory record. The German had won 91 races.
The statistics clearly speak of a historic moment: Mercedes has won all six Grands Prix in Sochi so far, and Hamilton was the first to cross the finish line four times. In the World Championship standings, Hamilton is 55 points ahead of his teammate Bottas. Third after ten of the 17 World Championship races, Verstappen is already 80 points behind the six-time season winner Hamilton.
Hamilton takes pole position
Vettel’s accident creates a frantic pace
Ferrari once again experienced a disappointing qualifying. Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel entered Q2 as 14th and 15th respectively, but that was the end of the line for them. Leclerc finally finished eleventh. It was even worse for Vettel: the German caused an accident and finished in 15th place.
The Vettel accident also ensured a turbulent ending. Since all the drivers had to go to the pits, there was only 2:15 minutes left for a warm-up and a fast lap after the restart. Hamilton, whose only lap thus far had been canceled in Q2 because he had run off the edge of the track, crossed the finish line in the final second and entered the crucial qualifying round in fourth place.
Turbulent second qualifying round
After an accident by Ferrari man Sebastian Vettel, which caused a red flag, things got tough for Hamilton. The Briton managed to cross the line in the allotted time.
Hamilton’s “worst rating yet”
“It was the worst classification I have ever experienced,” the Briton confessed. “The first lap was canceled for me, and then the red flag went up.” Hamilton was happiest with his 96th career pole, even if he doesn’t want to overestimate first place on the starting grid in Sochi.
Verstappen was surprised by the second best quality time. “So far we have searched in vain for the right balance and now we have found it,” said the Dutchman. “Anything can happen in the race. Bottas also performs a lot. I know the feeling of starting the race from third here. That’s not so bad,” recalls the Finn in 2017 when he did. He still won the race as third in qualifying.
Raikkonen only last in a record GP
Kimi Raikkonen had a particularly bitter afternoon at Alfa Romeo. The 40-year-old Finn, who will contest his 323rd Grand Prix on Sunday and thus tie with record holder Rubens Barrichello of Brazil, retired with the slowest time at the start and started the race from the end of the field.
