The Finn was a mere 0.006 of a second quicker than the five times world champion as the two Silver Arrows once again locked out the front row of the grid on a cloudy afternoon at Silverstone.
Monaco's Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the first time, lost power with 10 laps to go while leading and finished third with an extra point for the fastest lap.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for their 200th race at the German Grand Prix on Saturday while engine problems dashed Ferrari's hopes.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
Hamilton, who had also topped Saturday morning's final practice session, never look like being challenged throughout the qualifying hour.
The German, whose last victory was in Belgium in August 2018, took the chequered flag 2.641 seconds ahead of Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the third race in a row.
A Chinese Grand Prix podium hostess who had champagne sprayed in her face by race winner Lewis Hamilton has played down the incident.
Max Verstappen was fastest on the opening day of practice for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo as world champions Mercedes chose to focus on race preparation. Verstappen set a benchmark time of one minute 48.085 seconds, 0.256 quicker than Ricciardo on a hot and sunny day at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Mercedes won the Formula One constructors' title for the fourth year in a row on Sunday but Lewis Hamilton was made to wait despite cruising to a U.S. Grand Prix victory at one of his favourite circuits.
Three rookies are set to make their race debuts and Azarbaijan will make it's Formula One debut even as Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg pose to challenge odds on favourite Lewis Hamilton.
Former FIA president Max Mosley has warned that Formula One risks serious difficulties unless it changes direction and cuts costs.
Lewis Hamilton is planning to get plenty of rest over the next few days
Rediff.com brings you a collection of some of the best sports images from around the world.
Doubts about Force India being able to race at Spa, the first Grand Prix since the August break, emerged on Wednesday with reports of legal complications.
The pole was Hamilton's eighth in nine races this season and the 46th of his career for the championship leader, who won at Silverstone last year and has a 10 point advantage over the German.
Sebastian Vettel made full use of the virtual safety car to sneak in front of Lewis Hamilton midway the race before the German held off the frustrated Briton to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
'Vettel disgraced himself, to be honest'
Daniel Ricciardo was a surprise third fastest in his Red Bull, the Australian leaping up the order late in the session after sitting out the opening 45 minutes as the team struggled to cool their brakes.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, starting on pole, finished second after defending hard against Verstappen with the two 21-year-olds banging wheels as the Dutchman forced his way past. Verstappen took the flag under investigation.
Ferrari's Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel was handed a five-second penalty for colliding with the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap of the French Grand Prix on Sunday.
After pipping Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with a lap of one minute 23.599 seconds in the first practice, the Briton shaved almost a second in FP2, his quickest lap clocked at 1:22.60.
Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on pole position for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix with team mate Kimi Raikkonen alongside on the front row.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's US Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
IMAGES from the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit on Sunday
Mercedes are expected to wrap up the constructors' championship on Sunday with three races to spare, having won 12 of the 15 so far with eight one-two finishes.
Lewis Hamilton spent the off-season crisscrossing the globe to party with A-list celebrities but Formula One's reigning champion is adamant there will be no hangover when he returns to work at this week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo dashed Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen's hopes of becoming Formula One's youngest ever pole-sitter on Saturday while championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified third for Mercedes at the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton, who need only finish seventh on Sunday to secure his fifth title with two races to spare, will have Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel alongside on the second row.
Sebastian Vettel drove a flawless tactical race to claim his maiden victory for Ferrari at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, registering the first Formula One win for the Italian team since 2013.
Formula One's governing body is planning to tighten the rules on telemetry next season to limit the amount of remote assistance drivers can get from their data engineers.
Rediff.com recaptures these and other exciting sporting moments from the week gone by....
Daniel Ricciardo claimed his maiden Formula One win of the season in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix after reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton retired from the lead with a blown engine. The Australian's Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen finished second to score the former champions' first one-two finish since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix, denying Mercedes the chance to wrap up the constructors' title at the Sepang circuit.
Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position for his home British Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with German team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying alongside him in an all-Mercedes front row.
Nico Rosberg ended the Formula One season on a winning high in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with team mate and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton following him home in a record 12th one-two finish for dominant Mercedes.
Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas snatched pole position for the US Grand Prix on Saturday, breathing life into his remote title hopes while signalling to Lewis Hamilton he will not be gifting a sixth drivers' crown to his team mate.
Sebastian Vettel continued his imperious march towards a fourth consecutive Formula One world championship by storming to pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday after dominating the two days of practice.
Photos of the German Grand Prix.
Formula One leader Nico Rosberg felt sore enough at losing Sunday's Italian Grand Prix without then having to face conspiracy theories suggesting he had done it deliberately.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton stormed to his third successive pole position of the season, and third in a row in China, after edging team-mate Nico Rosberg in a front-row lockout for Mercedes on Saturday.
The Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit could be axed after this season due to the country's economic crisis, Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Saturday.
Britain's Jenson Button finished second for McLaren. Team mate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton placed third for the third race in a row to take the championship lead.
