This archive report was first published on 25 September 2021.
On a dramatic Saturday at the Russian Grand Prix, Lando Norris celebrated his maiden Formula One pole position, securing the top spot on the grid for McLaren's first since 2012.
Joining Norris on the front row was Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, his former teammate, with Lewis Hamilton starting on the second row in his pursuit of 100 wins.
Hamilton's hopes of securing pole position were dashed when he hit the pit wall with three minutes left in Q3, requiring a hastily fitted new front wing to his damaged Mercedes.
Undeterred, Norris seized the opportunity with a flying last lap of 1min 41.993sec, securing the pole position.
'Oh boy. It feels amazing. Manic session,' Norris exclaimed, fresh from his team's first one-two in over a decade at the Italian Grand Prix.
George Russell of Williams completed the refreshingly different complexion of the top of the grid, posting the third quickest time to start alongside Hamilton.
Max Verstappen, who leads Hamilton by five points ahead of the 15th round of the season, starts from the back of the grid due to an engine change penalty on his Red Bull.
Hamilton will be counting on exploiting Verstappen's penalty to the fullest at the circuit on the shores of the Black Sea, where he has already won four times with Mercedes undefeated since the race first appeared on the calendar in 2014.
Stuck on 99 wins since Silverstone on July 18, the world champion will hope his car's race pace will see him finally become F1's first century man.
'I think with Lewis we can still win this race,' said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
Hamilton was upset with what he acknowledged was 'a mistake from myself' when hitting the wall.
Qualifying got underway as scheduled after a dramatic improvement in conditions following torrential rain that washed out the morning's third and final practice.
