Mercedes excels, Ferrari disappoints in Spielberg.
SPIELBERG, Austria—July 4th—Even after spinning into the gravel late in the final qualifying session, Valtteri Bottas took the pole for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. His 1:02:939 lap record on Saturday afternoon was good enough to capture his third pole at this circuit. He finished ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Third-place went to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
It was the 56th front-row lockout for the Silver Arrows, which ties the team with Ferrari for the most in F1 history.
“It feels really good,” Bottas said. “It’s something special when you push the car to the limit. Our team did an amazing job, and we seem to be in our own league.”
On this day, Verstappen opened up with the fastest time in the opening session, but Bottas took over from there and was never threatened–except for Hamilton’s desperate effort to better his time. But Hamilton’s quest for the pole ended when he went a bit wide into the last corner of the last session.
If Mercedes was strong, Ferrari disappointed. Sebastian Vettel, who’s in his final season with the team, will start Sunday’s race in 11th position. Teammate Charles Leclerc didn’t do much better, finishing 7th overall.
The American Haas team was in the same boat. Kevin Magnussen went out in the first round, and teammate Romain Grosjean–who just made it to the second round–couldn’t advance any further, taking 15th. Magnussen will start next to the Frenchman in 16th.
Williams drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi–along with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi–also exited the first round, while Dani Kvyat and Pierre Gasly of the new Alpha Tauri team, along with Renault’s Esteban Ocon, missed the final cut.
Lando Norris led the best of the rest, finishing fourth with McLaren, while teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. took eighth. Racing Point had an excellent double finish taking sixth for Sergio Perez and ninth for Lance Stroll. Both Alex Albon of Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo in his Renault took fifth and tenth, respectively.
Bottas knows Sunday will be tougher than Saturday because he has Hamilton next to him in the front row. “It was a good result today, but it’s tomorrow that counts,” he said.
