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Hamilton sets superb pole
After a scare in Q2, Lewis Hamilton set a blistering time to beat Max Verstappen in P2 and his Mercedes teammate, in P3, to pole position finishing 0.563 seconds ahead of Verstappen and 0.652 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas.
Sergio Perez just pipped Daniel Ricciardo to P4 in a very tight fight that could be even more enthralling come race day.
Behind the pair then came Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris enforcing the Renault power and its strength at the Russian GP.
Then the ever-present squabblers of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon closed out the top 10 only 0.008 seconds apart but also a disappointing performance from the Honda power and again from Albon being so far from his teammate.
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Q2 flurry destroys Ferrari weekend
After his crash, Sebastian Vettel only finished in P15 after not being able to improve in Q2 after his original run.
Due to this incident, it caused a frenzy throughout the paddock as everyone was desperate to go out and set a time. No one improved other than Hamilton which left Charles Leclerc left in P11.
Behind were Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll who also struggled to improve on the last lap having less than ideal tyre temperatures.
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Russell a league of his own in the back three
Despite finishing in P14 after Q2, George Russell put in a great performance in Q1 finishing over a second ahead of his teammate and over seven-tenths away from being eliminated in Q1.
Q1 saw no surprises as to who was eliminated as they were all either a Haas, Alfa Romeo or Williams car. In the session, Romain Grosjean finished P16 complementing his car for the first time all season.
Behind, Kimi Raikkonen finished P20 due to spinning at turn 2 on his last run leaving him unable to improve. His teammate Antonio Giovinazzi did not do much better with the pair being split by Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi.