Fourth pole in a row for Ferrari’s Leclerc

Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton joined the Monegasque on the front row with Mercedes unable to match Ferrari’s single lap speed. Leclerc was three years old when Schumacher racked up four poles in a row in 2000. The unfazed 21-year-old has now out-qualified teammate Sebastian Vettel, who starts in third place, for nine successive races.

But, he is not carried away after his sixth pole of the season. “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 with a pole lap of one minute 31.628 seconds.

“It 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, 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 all-time pole record holder lifted himself on to the front row when it mattered. His time was 0.4 of a second slower than Leclerc. “It was a tough qualifying session because these guys have some crazy speeds on the straights,” said Hamilton after ending up in a Ferrari sandwich.

“They go to another level. You know the whole ‘party mode’ you talked about us having? They have something else beyond that — jet mode. Nonetheless, I gave absolutely everything I had at the end. I’m so glad it came together, I wasn’t expecting it to.” Max Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull but the Dutch youngster carries a five-place grid penalty due to an engine change.

As a result of it, Hamilton’s teammate and title rival Valtteri Bottas moves up to the second row. Hamilton leads Bottas by 65 points with six races remaining and is well placed to extend his lead on Sunday, given that he is 96 points clear of closest non-Mercedes rivals Leclerc and Verstappen in the standings.