Mercedes qualifies 1-2 again, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen takes third.
MUGELLO, Italy—September 12th—After Valtteri Bottas set the pace during Friday’s practice, Lewis Hamilton came to the fore during Saturday’s qualifying. So once again it’s Mercedes 1-2, this time for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Tuscany.
Hamilton took his seventh pole out of eight events this season as Bottas ran second. Max Verstappen slotted third for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Tuscany.
Late in the final session, Bottas had a chance to better Hamilton’s time, but he had to slow down for a yellow flag after Renault’s Esteban Ocon took a spin.
Hamilton and Bottas split the first two sessions, but Hamilton was the luckiest of the two, going out right when the final session began to get more of a clear track by which to qualify.
Lewis Hamilton: This is a challenging circuit, and Valtteri was quicker than me all day yesterday and this morning and even in Q1. I have been working hard in the background to improve on my lines and set-up, and I finally got the lap I needed.
By finishing fourth, Alex Albon made it a second-row lockout for Red Bull Racing. Charles Leclerc was the only Ferrari in the final sessions as teammate Sebastian Vettel ended up being eliminated early on. The two Racing Points of Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez finished in sixth and seventh, respectively, while Daniel Ricciardo took eighth in his Renault. Carlos Sainz Jr. was the only surviving McLaren in the final session (finishing in ninth) ahead of Ocon who’ll start Sunday in the #10 slot.
Hamilton gets the pole…again (photo, The Guardian)
As for American Haas, Kevin Magnussen was eliminated in the opening session and he’ll start 20th and last. Teammate Romain Grosjean had a little more success advancing to the second session, but he failed to advance to the final one. He’ll start 15th.
Hamilton, who just beat Bottas by only 0.059 seconds, is expecting Sunday’s race to be challenging–not just because of the competition, but because of the circuit. Said Hamilton: “You go through turns six, seven, eight, and nine at 180 mph, and the G-force is insane.”
