Bottas takes pole ahead of Russell for Sakhir GP
GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP / Getty
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position for the Sakhir Grand Prix on Saturday, barely outqualifying George Russell, who was filling in for Lewis Hamilton.
"Really pleased but gutted to miss out on pole," Russell said after qualifying second. "If you told me I was qualifying in P2 last week I wouldn't have believed you. Tomorrow's going to be tricky … but I'll see what I can do."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen qualified third.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 0:53.377 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.026 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +0.056 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.236 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | +0.413 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri | +0.529 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | +0.580 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | +0.633 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.777 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | +0.823 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | Q2 |
| 12 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing | Q2 |
| 13 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Q2 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Q2 |
| 15 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Q2 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Q1 |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Q1 |
| 18 | Jack Aitken | Williams | Q1 |
| 19 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 20 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Haas | Q1 |
Points leader Hamilton won't race at the Sakhir GP on Sunday while he recovers from COVID-19.