Mercedes captures the front row…again…for Sunday’s Eifel Grand Prix.
NURBURG, Germany—October 10th—For the season, Valtteri Bottas might be 44 points behind his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Still, the Finn proved Saturday afternoon at the famed new Nurburgring circuit that he has not given up on dethroning the six-time world champion. Bottas set a lap of 1:25:269 to take his third pole of the season at the maiden Eifel Grand Grix. Hamilton was second, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen placed third.
The finishes kept the Mercedes streak intact. The Silver Arrows have taken every pole this season, and Saturday’s result was their 72nd F1 front-row lockout since 2014.
Both Verstappen and Hamilton took the first two sessions, with Hamilton leading the best qualifiers–until, that is, the last few minutes when Bottas beat both of their times. Verstappen followed Bottas at the end of the qualifying session, but a lack of grip could not get the Dutchman ahead of Mercedes drivers.
Nut Saturday wasn’t kind to many other drivers. Kimi Raikkonen, Williams pilots’ George Russell and Nicolas Latifi, Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg (substituting for an ill Lance Stroll) were out of the first session. Sebastian Vettel, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and Dani Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi, and the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen exited the second round.
Among those who finished, Charles Leclerc took fourth at the last second with a great run in his Ferrari, while Alex Albon was fifth in his Red Bull. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon followed with sixth and seventh places, respectively, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. were eighth and tenth. Sergio Perez was the only single team car in the top ten, taking ninth in his Racing Point.
Will they be chasing Bottas on Sunday? Well, he does have something to build on–a perfect lap. “That was pretty much spot on,” Bottas concluded.
