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2020SakhirStats

Qualifying facts and stats: Russell's remarkable run comes to an end in Sakhir

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - DECEMBER 05: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMGBAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - DECEMBER 05: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W11 in the Pitlane during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Sakhir at Bahrain International Circuit on December 05, 2020 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

The first race without Lewis Hamilton on the grid since 2006 saw regular Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas take pole and stand-in George Russell join him on the front row. A look at the numbers brings up some even more surprising statistics for Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix.

  • Bottas takes his fifth pole of the season and second in Bahrain.

  • Mercedes lock out the front row in Bahrain for the second consecutive week – with a different driver lineup.

READ MORE: Russell misses out on maiden Mercedes pole by 0.02s as Bottas stamps his authority in Sakhir

  • Russell's record of outqualifying team mates ends at 36 in a row (tied third-longest in history).

  • Russell is the 25th British driver to qualify on the front row for an F1 race.

  • However, Bottas has not won any of his last three starts from pole.

  • Max Verstappen is 0.056 off pole and starts third – not even on the front row.

  • Verstappen starts in the top three for the 13th time this season without ever being on pole.

  • Verstappen has been third on the grid in both Bahrain races (Red Bull did not have a top-four start in Bahrain in the hybrid era prior to 2020).

READ MORE: Leclerc delighted with surprise P4 in Sakhir qualifying, as Vettel exits in Q2 after middle-sector struggles

  • Charles Leclerc is fourth on the grid for the fourth time this season (Silverstone, Nurburgring, Portimao being the other three venues). He was 12th on the grid at the last two Grands Prix.

  • In P5, Sergio Perez starts in the same position as last week when he almost finished on the podium.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - DECEMBER 04: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Racing Point RP20 MercedesSergio Perez retired from podium contention in the Bahrain Grand Prix

  • Daniil Kvyat's P6 is his best since the 2019 Azerbaijan, 33 races ago!

  • Kvyat has three Q3 appearances in the last four races, having had none in the rest of 2020.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch all the action as Bottas beats Russell to pole in Sakhir GP qualifying

  • Daniel Ricciardo starts seventh, one place lower than he did last week.

  • Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, is seven places higher than he started last week, when he finished fifth from 15th. This time, Lando Norris starts 15th.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - DECEMBER 04: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Renault Sport FormulaRicciardo starts seventh, Sainz eighth, on Sunday

  • Pierre Gasly, P9, is outqualified by Kvyat for only the third time in 2020 (and the first time in seven races).

  • Twelfth-place Alex Albon fails to reach Q3 for the third time this season, the other two races being Hungary and Great Britain.

  • Sebastian Vettel fails to reach Q3 for the 12th straight race.

READ MORE: Russell 'gutted' to miss pole but says if someone had told him he'd be P2 they'd be 'having my pants down'

  • Antonio Giovinazzi makes Q2 for the third time this season. He (P14) and Kimi Raikkonen (P19) are tied 8-8 in the season head-to-head.

  • Both Haas cars are knocked out in Q1 for the fifth straight race.

  • Nicholas Latifi outqualifies a team mate for the first time, with Jack Aitken (18th) replacing George Russell this weekend.

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