Bottas takes pole for 70th Anniversary GP, Hulkenberg 3rd
Valtteri Bottas secured pole position for Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Bottas and Lewis Hamilton switched positions this week after also locking out the front of the grid last week at the British GP, which also took place at Silverstone. Hamilton went on to win that race, while tire issues on the final laps dropped Bottas off the podium and into an 11th-place finish.
"Feels good," Bottas said. "I just love qualifying, especially when it goes well. Proud to drive this car. Our first job is to get a good start off the line tomorrow and go from there."
Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:25.154 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.063 |
3 | Nico Hulkenberg | Racing Point | +0.928 |
4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +1.022 |
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | +1.143 |
6 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | +1.274 |
7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpha Tauri | +1.380 |
8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.460 |
9 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | +1.515 |
10 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.624 |
11 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | |
12 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | |
13 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | |
14 | Esteban Ocon* | Renault | |
15 | George Russell | Williams | |
16 | Daniil Kvyat | Alpha Tauri | |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | |
18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | |
19 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | |
20 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo |
* - Ocon will start 14th after receiving a third-place grid penalty for impeding George Russell during the first qualifying session.
Racing Point replacement driver Nico Hulkenberg was Saturday's biggest surprise, qualifying third. Hulkenberg, who is filling in for Sergio Perez after he tested positive for COVID-19, was unable to race last week due to a technical issue with his car.
"The last seven-to-eight days have been crazy," Hulkenberg said after qualifying. "This weekend, I felt much better prepared. Q3 was just head down, full beans, and give it whatever I had. I'm a bit surprised to be standing here but there's a big smile on my face."
While Hulkenberg and Racing Point experienced excitement, Saturday's qualifying meant more bad news for Ferrari. While Charles Leclerc cracked the top 10 and will start eighth, Sebastian Vettel posted the 12th-fastest time and his worst starting point of the 2020 season. However, he was bumped up to 11th place after Ocon's penalty.
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