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F1 Fans Take a Stroll Down the Memory Lane as Crazy Russian GP Qualifying Ends 17-Year Dry Streak

Published 09/26/2021, 6:35 AM EDT

All the Motorsports fans had thought that the Russian GP would be focused only on Mercedes, thanks to the team’s dominance on the Sochi circuit. But the trio of Norris, Sainz, and Russell gave us all a huge surprise.

On Saturday, when all hopes were lost as Verstappen and Charles retired from the qualification and Raikkonen was out in Q1, the young gang of Formula 1 made sure the fans held on to the edge of their seats with anxiety.

And at the end of the qualification, we had our first-time-pole-sitter in Norris, followed by Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, and George Russell from Williams. Then, the Twitterati started bringing up the 2004 Brazilian GP which saw a similar qualification result.

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It’s been a while 😅⁠
⁠
We haven’t seen a McLaren, Ferrari and Williams top 3️⃣ in qualifying since 2004 😲⁠#F1 #Formula1 #RussianGP #Autosport pic.twitter.com/VfqN2AGMKF
— Autosport (@autosport) September 25, 2021

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Right after the qualifying ended, fans took to Twitter to express how much they had missed the McLaren-Ferrari-Williams top-3 on Saturday.

Williams have made so much improvement since 2019 its so good too see. Russell has been a key in their improvement
— Kartikeya Chauhan (@KartikeyaChau19) September 26, 2021

Those were the days!
— Usman Ahmed (@usmanA23) September 26, 2021

The OGs
— Weltmeister (@multi21tweets) September 25, 2021

Unexpected qualification results, Mercedes nowhere in the top 3

While Lewis Hamilton was a favorite for the top spot in qualifying, his luck did not turn out to be so good. Even though Verstappen, his nearest competitor, retired early from the session, Lewis only came fourth. His future teammate George Russell pushed him down one spot at the very last moment of Q3.

Russell, who is trying to make his last mark as a Williams driver before moving to Mercedes in 2022, said, “It is crazy, it’s the second time in the top three in the last three or four events.

“The team have done an amazing job again. It was tricky out there. Well done to Lando and Carlos and I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Lando Norris becomes the star of the evening

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While Russell gave a fantastic performance, the day was all about McLaren prodigy Lando Norris who got P1 after a spectacular lap-time of 1:41.993s. With this, the 21-year-old has become the fifth-youngest pole-sitter of all time.

When asked about his comments on this big moment, he said, “It feels incredible. To dream of this since I was a little kid, and now, for it to actually happen!”

Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari debutant, also gave a stellar performance to take his team name to where it belongs—among the top 3.

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Written by:

Riddhi Mondal is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. Having previously worked as a student reporter at The Statesman, she is an ardent follower of all things F1. A nerd through and through, the complicated physics that goes into the cars is what drew Riddhi to the sport.

F1 Fans Take a Stroll Down the Memory Lane as Crazy Russian GP Qualifying Ends 17-Year Dry Streak

Unexpected qualification results, Mercedes nowhere in the top 3

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Lando Norris becomes the star of the evening