Charles Leclerc reeled off his fourth consecutive pole position with another stunning lap on Saturday as he topped the times in qualifying for Sunday's Russian Grand Prix.
The in-form Monegasque clocked a best lap of one minute and 31.628 seconds to improve his time in the final seconds and set up an end to Mercedes' five-year domination of the event since it began in 2014.
After three successive Ferrari wins, two from Leclerc, he appears set to extend the scarlet scuderia's run of success to four races. His performance made him the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2001, when Leclerc was only three years old, to secure four straight poles..
Series leader and defending five-time champion Lewis Hamilton pulled out a dazzling final sector and final lap to take second ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari by a narrow margin.
Vettel, who won in Singapore last Sunday, was third ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who is set to take a grid penalty, Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes and Carlos Sainz of McLaren.
"The car felt amazing. It definitely feels amazing to be back on pole, but I don't know if it's the best track to start on pole," said Leclerc.
"The straight at the start is very long. It definitely feels very special (to take four consecutive poles), but I don't want to think about those stats!"
Hamilton said he remained amazed at Ferrari's power and speed on the straights.
"I tell you, it was a tough session. These guys have another level on the straights - jet mode.
"I gave it everything I had and the team was able to tinker and push forward... I didn't expect to get on the front row."
Vettel said: "Obviously I'm not entirely happy and extracted the maximum from the car. Turn One is a long way – and we're on different tyre strategies compared to the Mercs. Personally, I need a good start and then you worry about the race."
The session began in dry and warm conditions following overnight rain with Hamilton, on softs, leading the way before a lurid spin from Williams' Robert Kubica was followed by Red Bull new boy Alex Albon crashing heavily at Turn 13.
He lost control and went into the barriers, damaging the rear of his car. He was unhurt.
This led to a brief red flag stoppage before Vettel went top ahead of Hamilton and Verstappen.
Out went Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen ahead of his 307th start, which is set to put him third in the all-time list ahead of Schumacher and Jenson Button, leaving only Fernando Alonso on 311 and Rubens Barrichello on 322 ahead of him.
The Finn was joined by Williams duo George Russell and Kubica, Albon and the luckless local hero Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso in making early exits. Kvyat took no part after requiring an engine change following final practice.
Leclerc topped the first runs in Q2 and stayed there ahead of Vettel with Verstappen third and the Mercedes men fourth and fifth, running on mediums.
After a fierce scrap, both Renaults squeezed through to the top ten shootout and out went Pierre Gasly in the second Toro Rosso, Sergio Perez of Racing Point and Antonio Giovinazzi of Sauber ahead of Haas's Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll in the second Racing Point.
This left the usual suspects to fight it out for pole position with Ferrari revelling in their straight-line speed advantage to lead the way,.
Mercedes toiled to keep pace with them, but Hamilton was half a second slower than the Monegasque who appeared to be in supreme form as he sped around the former 2014 Olympic Park track before trimming that to grab a spot on the front row and split the Ferraris.
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
The five pillars of Islam
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Uruguay 3 Russia 0
Uruguay: Suárez (10'), Cheryshev (23' og), Cavani (90')
Russia: Smolnikov (Red card: 36')
Man of the match: Diego Godin (Uruguay)
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Ireland (15-1):
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now