Valtteri Bottas outpaced his Mercedes team-mate and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton by the finest of margins on Saturday to claim a dramatic pole position for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
The Finn clocked a
fastest lap in one minute and 25.154 seconds to beat the six-time world
champion by only 0.063 in the final seconds of an enthralling qualifying
session.
It was the Mercedes
team’s 67th front row lockout.
“It feels good,”
said Bottas who was securing the 13th pole of his career 48 hours
after signing a new contract to keep him at Mercedes next season.
He added: “We have
improved the set-up and the car since last week. Mentally, when you start on
pole, you can only aim to win the race – and the starting point is good! It is
so nice to drive this amazing car.”
Hamilton explained
his unexpected ‘slip’ to second.
“I wasn’t that
great, but Valtteri did a great job and he deserves pole.”
Nico Hulkenberg,
standing in for coronavirus victim Sergio Perez with the Racing Point team, was
third, securing his spot with an impressive performance only 10 days after
receiving a late call-up while eating a pastry in a Cologne café.
“It’s been a crazy
last week,” he said.
“Q2 was tricky and
I made life hard for myself – and it is definitely going to hurt tomorrow, not
having had the experience last week.”
He failed to start
last Sunday’s British Grand Prix at the circuit after an engine problem.
Max Verstappen took
fourth for Red Bull ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of Renault, Lance Stroll in the
second Force India, Pierre Gasly of Alpha Tauri and down in eighth Charles
Leclerc in the leading Ferrari.
Alex Albon was
ninth in the second Red Bull and Lando Norris 10th for McLaren.