Charles Leclerc takes pole for the French GP from title rival Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton will start his 300th grand prix from a distant fourth on the grid as Charles Leclerc secured pole position in France.

All the talk of the smooth Paul Ricard surface suiting the Mercedes proved false. The Silver Arrows were a massive nine-tenths sec off the top, likely rendering forlorn any hope of a fairytale 104th career victory for Hamilton on his landmark occasion.

Instead, Mercedes are losing ground. Boss Toto Wolf watched on impassively from the garage as the latest evidence of his team’s woes unfolded.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took his seventh pole of the season from title rival Max Verstappen

Leclerc will face a tough challenge from the Red Bulls with Sergio Perez lining up in third

Carlos Sainz will start in 19th after a penalty but helped his team-mate Leclerc in qualifying

Lando Norris even managed to split the two Mercedes in his upgraded McLaren. He starts fifth with George Russell sixth, 1.2sec off the pace.

But it was another encouraging afternoon for Leclerc, who won the last race in Austria to narrow his deficit to leader and champion Max Verstappen to 38 points going into the 12th round of the 22-race season.

Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Paul Ricard Circuit ahead of qualifying for the French Grand Prix

But Hamilton was fourth and will be disappointed at the large gap to Ferrari driver Leclerc

Lando Norris impressed in an upgraded McLaren as he got between the two Mercedes drivers

Verstappen was second quickest with Red Bull’s No 2 Sergio Perez third best.

Carlos Sainz provided a tow for his team-mate Leclerc in the final shootout because the Spaniard takes a grid penalty for an engine change following a blowout a fortnight ago that saw his car lapped by flames.

Sainz’s help gave Leclerc a three-tenths margin at the end.

Sportsmail’s  Kieran Lynch provided live qualifying updates for the French Grand Prix.