Sochi (Russia) (AFP)

Two driving errors for Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at the end of qualifying and it was his 21-year-old compatriot Lando Norris (McLaren) who took his first pole position in Formula 1 in Russia on Saturday.

At the start on Sunday at 3 p.m. local (2 p.m. French / 12 p.m. GMT), Norris - who gave McLaren his first pole since Brazil in 2012 with ... Lewis Hamilton - will share the front row with Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari ), who had also never qualified so well.

In an unusual configuration but one which could become the norm in the coming years, the second row will see another Briton, George Russell (Williams), set off alongside Lewis Hamilton, the two drivers due to become teammates at Mercedes in 2022.

The seven-time world champion, whose last top position dates back to before the summer break, can only apologize for a muddled end of the session which saw him hit a wall at the entrance to the pit lane and then leave spinning on the track.

"Nothing to do with the pressure" of the title race or a symbolic 100th victory which is long overdue, he assures without fully convincing.

"Just a silly mistake that sometimes happens. I was just trying to get through the pits as fast as possible ... A little too fast. Now I can only hope the car isn't damaged and focus my energies on tomorrow."

It's certainly not ideal for confidence, but the important thing for Hamilton is that Max Verstappen (Red Bull), his championship rival with a five-point lead, will start last on the grid, penalized for a engine change.

British driver Lewis Hamilton, driving his Mercedes, during qualifying for the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix, September 25, 2021 in Sochi Alexander NEMENOV AFP

"Of course we are going to try to score points and we would really need something wrong up front to help us," commented the Dutchman, who has the right car to get back to the front lines.

- Wolff "optimistic" -

On the Mercedes side, despite disappointing qualifications also for the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (7th) because of a conservative strategy, we are "optimistic", assures the boss Toto Wolff.

"To start fourth is not a disaster for Lewis, he notes. It can even give him opportunities."

Indeed, Hamilton will benefit from the aspiration of his predecessors at the end of the long first straight, which could allow him to gain places in the first round.

Moreover, the Russian GP in Sochi - where the Silver Arrows are undefeated - has only been won from pole position twice out of seven, in 2014 and 2016.

Can Norris lie the statistic in the 15th round of 22 this season and give McLaren a second consecutive victory following nine years of famine (after that of his Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo in the previous event), the first for the young man ?

"Extremely happy" and aware that his next pole "is not necessarily for now", the Briton "does not hope too much".

"The start and the first laps will be complicated, he anticipates. But we are in a good position to score big points."

Sunday's weather promises to be rather mild, with a slight risk of showers, however, according to Météo France forecasts for the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

Saturday, on the contrary, has long been cataclysmic.

The rain, which started to fall overnight, turned into an intense thunderstorm in the morning, preventing Free Practice 3 and the first Formula 2 race.

- Tchaikovsky replaces the Russian anthem -

The F1 cars were the first to hit the track at the scheduled time (3:00 p.m.) on drying asphalt.

The riders were only able to put on slick tires during the third and final part of qualifying, and it was the first to make this bet - Norris, Sainz and Russell - who took advantage, with more time to raise their gums to the ideal temperature.

The Mercedes drivers, the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), 9th, or the French Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 10th, paid the price to be returned to the pits later.

The circuit of the Russian F1 Grand Prix soaked and in the rain on September 25, 2021 in Sochi Alexander NEMENOV AFP

The second Frenchman Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) will be 12th on the grid and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 19th, penalized for the same reasons as Verstappen.

This weekend, it is only in the stands (whose capacity is reduced to 50%, or 27,000 tickets per day) and on the single-seaters of the Haas team that we can see the Russian colors.

The flag and the national anthem are absent from the protocol in F1, the country being excluded from major international sports competitions after a huge doping scandal.

Before departure, it is therefore an excerpt from the first piano concerto by Russian composer Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky that we will hear, as during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

© 2021 AFP