Thanks for joining me for qualifying day at the Russian Grand Prix. See you tomorrow for more.

I'll leave you with this belter...

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BBC Sport live text commentary from 10:30 BST.

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Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Honda used an upgraded engine in Russia on Friday. Word is that it’s a “significant” step forward, and it certainly looked promising in the Toro Rosso. Pierre Gasly was best of the rest for a decent chunk of time, only being pipped in the end by Force India’s Sergio Perez, who did his qualifying simulation run a little out of sync.

Honda decided overnight to refit the previous spec engine. Not for reliability reasons, but just to save it for their home race next weekend, and bearing in mind they will start from the back in Sochi because of penalties for using it.

The Frenchman, who had been disappointed by the team’s lack of pace at the last race in Singapore, where he expected to do well, said: “It was a positive day overall.

Especially after the tough weekend in Singapore it was important to find some answers and try to get our pace back.

That’s what we did, plus we tested an upgraded engine which seems to work well, so I think it’s really encouraging for the few races left before the end of the season. Thank you to Honda for bringing this.”

Team-mate Brendon Hartley was having his first experience of Sochi and admitted it was “probably not my favourite track in the world” - you and everyone else, Brendon. He was a second off, saying he had not got the most out of the hyper-soft on his low-fuel run.

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• What's happening at Ferrari? Which, after today's qualifying session, poses an even bigger question: WHAT'S HAPPENING AT FERRARI?
• Andrew Benson has given us an in-depth look into why the horse is limping - read more here.
• The latest in the driver market, which is that Daniil Kvyat is returning to Toro Rosso, for the third time in 2019 - read more here.
• How many times can a driver sign for an F1 team? - Thanks for the comments on Twitter, it looks like the answer is as many as they like.
• Bottas' performance, which now seems like his pole has cleared up any doubts in his performance - read the report here.

For now, we know Verstappen, Ricciardo and Gasly are taking penalties and will start towards the back of the grid tomorrow. Andrew Benson has an update on those Honda engines...

Bottas background: He started in 2013 as a Williams driver, and moved to Mercedes in 2017.

He has had six poles in his career, all of which have been at Mercedes. Those six poles make him 20 behind the most successful Finn (on pole) - Mika Hakkinen (pictured below).

Kimi Raikkonen, our fellow Finn on the grid is on 18 so far, not too far behind Hakkinen.

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Let's be fair to Bottas. He did win here last year, from P3 - on a track which is difficult to overtake.

As I did mention earlier (12:54) he was competitive at the beginning of the year - nearly won in Baku, and got his first pole this year in Austria. He's had five P2 finishes this year, but seems to have fallen off the podium since and gone quiet - until today.

Good luck to the Finn, even Hamilton is proud of him.

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And here's what the man of the hour had to say about it:

"It feels good, I have only been on pole once this year - in Austria - it is a good feeling.

"Normally it has been a pretty good track for me here. The car felt really strong as the times show, the team has done an exceptional job again."

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Charles Leclerc tells Sky Sports: "I'm extremely happy, I'm very happy with my lap and happy with seventh, which is my best starting position.

"On Friday we struggled with the set-up in FP1 so to improve that much in qualifying is something we have been working on and I'm happy to see the results. There are some quick cars that are starting backwardsm like the Red Bulls, so it will be hard to keep them behind.

"Renault will start on a different strategy but I don't see why we cant keep this position. I will try to push as much as possible."

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Marcus Ericsson, from Sauber, who starts P10 tomorrow, says: "It was really good in practice yesterday, qualifying felt OK, I couldn’t do a clean lap, but it’s still a good starting position for tomorrow.

"We have a nicely balanced car and it seems to work well in the sectors here and it gives me and Charles some confidence."

"I felt good on the hypersofts yesterday, they didn’t degrade that much so I’m feeling confident starting on those tomorrow."

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Esteban Ocon has improved significantly this season, but finds himself still looking for a seat for 2019. Although it's not yet confirmed, sadly it's likely he may have an F1 gap year. He starts P6 tomorrow:

"It's going to be a close fight. I went off in the entry in the last run and I couldn’t improve on the new tyres. It’s a good position to be in starting P6 so it will be interesting to see how the hypersofts go.

"I’m just trying to enjoy the rest of the season as much as possible. I’m racing amazing cars in Formula 1 - the top of racing - and I'm living in the moment and ignoring the negativity and that’s all I can do."

"My focus is to be in F1 for the future, everything I want is in F1 and if I have to sit out next year then I’m trusting Toto (Wolff, Mercedes team boss) and team to sort me out."

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says: "Lewis may have been on a mission to beat Valtteri but he didn't make Turn Seven. Valtteri knows he needs to extract everything to beat Lewis. He was so pumped the adrenaline was coming out of his ears.

"We made some experiments added some stuff and took some bits off. Last year Valtteri from P3 slipstreamed them and was in the lead. You have to get a good start and get wide.

"We have a good momentum. We are looking good but everytime I say that I want to cross my fingers. Momentum is important but it can change quickly."

Asked if Mercedes will let Bottas and Hamilton race tomorrow, Wolff says: "We will have the conversation tomorrow morning and see how the race will pan out."

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Haas' Kevin Magnussen will start fifth and tells Sky Sports: "Very happy with qualifying. P5 is very good for us, we will see tomorrow on the hypersoft how it goes.

"Most people are a bit nervous about that, hopefully it will be the same for everyone. It is a great day for the team, both cars in the top 10 so a good chance of scoring points tomorrow.

"We need to have a bit better pace tomorrow if we want to be competitive, the track is usually better in the race so the tyres are easier to make last.

"We are in a strong position, it is strange being in the best of the rest. You don't want to get involved with the guys in front as that can mess up your own race. Hopefully I will have a clean track."

Kimi Raikkonen, a man of few words, who starts P4 tomorrow says: "We are a bit behind here. The car didn’t feel too bad in qualifying, but the last lap didn’t come together, so…"

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Rachel T: Love that Lewis was still pushing so hard - so much so he slightly lost out, but that is why he is sooooo hard to beat. The man won’t stop until the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi! Seb looks drained.

Inge: Valtteri Bottas has done it it again, he has just outqualified LH in Russia. Hope he wins the race tomorrow!

Jeremiah: Bottas and Hamilton have that body language that says we "team"! That should be a concern for Ferrari

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Sebastian Vettel started on pole in 2017, but a blistering start from Valtteri Bottas saw the Mercedes man jump from third to first on his way to a maiden grand prix victory.

Tomorrow sees Bottas this time on pole with Vettel third.

"I just spoke to Valtteri and reminded him what happened last year so maybe we can turn that around this time," says Vettel.

"It was important to get as close to them but it is true they have been very quick. it is a long race and the tyres will be important. We should've been a lot closer. I'm quite happy, the car felt alright so that makes me happy. If there is a gap we will go for it."

Lewis Hamilton, who starts P2 tomorrow: "Firstly a big congratulations to Valtteri, he's driven brilliantly this weekend and he just did a better job.

The track is great, and the weather is good, it is intense, naturally, as it always is. My last two laps of Q3 weren’t great, you can’t always have it - but we’re still in contention for tomorrow.

"We rely fully on the team, the guys all do an impeccable job. It's motivating to see the upgrades on the car and see the changes."

"A big thank-you to everyone here in Russia supporting us."

Valtteri Bottas, who will start on pole, says: "It was a nice lap I managed to improve a little bit. It feels good, it takes some concentration. I'm really happy for sure. It is only the first step, it is a massive long run to Turn One."

1. Bottas

2. Hamilton

3. Vettel

4. Raikkonen

5. Magnussen

6. Ocon

7. Leclerc

8. Perez

9. Grosjean

10. Ericsson

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Hamilton was flying, he could have taken it easier at Turn Seven, but he went wide and that cost him.