Lewis Hamilton has secured the first ever pole position for the Russian grand prix.

The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg locked on the front row of the Sochi Autdrom but it wasn’t without pressure from behind. Williams driver Valterri Bottas nearly pulled a rabbit out of the proverbial hat but a slide into the final corner meant the Finn had to settle for third overall.

Jenson Button delivered on the form promised in practice to secure his best starting position of the season in fourth. Daniil Kvyat, undoubtedly the rookie of the year, secured a stunning fifth on the grid for the Toro Rosso team. Jean-Eric Vergne will start tenth in the sister Toro Rosso.

Daniel Ricciardo set the sixth fastest time in the final part of qualifying while teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to advance to the top ten shoot-out. Fernando Alonso was the best of the Ferrari drivers in seventh only half a tenth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Kevin Magnussen set the sixth fastest time in his McLaren but a gearbox change will drop him five places on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Felipe Massa ran into engine troubles in the first part of qualifying which meant the Brazilian failed to advance past 18th on the grid. A difficult day for Force India translated into 12th and 17th for Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg respectively.

Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson continued his good run of form by getting the better of the Marussia/Caterham battle towards the lower end of the field.