With a good showing on Sunday, Mercedes will win its 7th consecutive Constructors title.
IMOLA, Italy—October 31st. On a weekend where the 2020 Formula 1 grid meets an old school circuit, Valtteri Bottas proved that he still has what it takes. He clocked a 1:13:609 fastest time Saturday afternoon at the circuit Enzo E Dino Ferrari in preparation for the maiden Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Bottas finished ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Valtteri Bottas: I really enjoyed it, this track.”
Both Hamilton and Bottas took the opening two sessions, respectively. But Bottas seemed to have a little more of a gap to record a faster time just after Hamilton completed his last qualifying lap. For Bottas, it is his fourth pole position for the season–a good sign if he is to catch his British teammate who is currently 74 points ahead in the driver’s championship.
For Verstappen, his third place was well earned because the Dutchman encountered a misfiring of one of his sparkplugs in the second session, which could have put him starting in 15th place. But Red Bull mechanics got Verstappen’s car repaired in just enough time to have him finish and advance to the final period of qualifying.
Pierre Gasly had a fantastic drive in his Alpha Tauri, leading the best of the rest in fourth, while Daniel Ricciardo improved as well, taking fifth. Alex Albon finished sixth, despite a tough time learning a circuit he was not familiar with. Charles Leclerc took seventh in the second Ferrari. The second Alpha Tauri of Dani Kvyat was eighth, and the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished ninth and tenth, respectively.
It was not a day to remember for both Alfa Romeo drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, were knocked out of the first session. The Haas pair of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen suffered the same fate, along with Williams’ driver Nicholas Latifi. Both Racing Point‘s Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll–along with Williams George Russell, Renault’s Esteban Ocon, and a disappointing Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari–departed following the second period.
If Mercedes runs well on Sunday, then the company will win its seventh consecutive constructor’s title. And it’s not a good idea to wager against the team. Said Bottas about the track: “When you push flat out, it’s beautiful.”
