Sebastian Vettel did it with Toro Rosso, while years earlier, Fernando Alonso did it with Minardi, both drivers impressing at the very start of their F1 careers with an uncompetitive car.

Yesterday, in the latest of a string of strong performances, Charles Leclerc qualified eighth for today's French Grand Prix, Sauber's first appearance in Q3 since China 2015.

Needless to say, Vettel was impressed by the performance of the youngster who could be his teammate next season.

"He was eighth?" said the German after being told Leclerc's qualifying position. "So... I saw only on the screen that Fred Vasseur was pretty happy, so I thought one of his drivers did well in Q2.

"I didn't see in Q3 but obviously eighth is an impressive result," he continued. "I think they are still quite a long way behind with the car so I think for him, he's doing the job. It's good for him and good for Sauber as well, to be up there. And hopefully for them they have some chance to score points tomorrow."

"I think he was in the top ten going into Q3," added Hamilton, "which was very, very impressive to see. Particularly with the all the pressures you could see.

"There's a lot of pressure for him, being here in the South of France, so yeah, really, really good. Really happy for him - particularly in that car, which is... yeah, he's doing a great job with what he has and probably delivering more, which is what you would hope from a good driver."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Paul Ricard, here.