Mercedes continued their control over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, with an emphatic one and two in qualifying when Valtteri Bottas escaped from an off-road excursion to beat teammate Lewis Hamilton to take the first pole. 2020 position.
Formula 1 has been in a waiting pattern as the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, but after nearly four months, the cars finally hit the track, and it was Mercedes, in a black livery in an anti-racism position, who he continued his unbridled form in F1 which took advantage.
Bottas set an early marker with a new record, beating Hamilton after the opening saves. The Finn looked huge in the first sector in race two, but he threw it all out when he lost control of the car and bounced off the track before rejoining.
That opened the door for Hamilton to take advantage, the Brit ran last on the track, and although he improved on his first effort, he couldn’t make a difference, finishing 0.012s off Bottas’ pace.
Max Verstappen, winner of the last two Austrian Grand Prix, was third, although he is almost half a second off the pace, but the Red Bull driver will have a good chance of spoiling the Mercedes party on Sunday, given that he will start in the Medium Tire. more durable with all the others in the top 10 in softs.
|
one Valtteri Bottas BOT Mercedes |
1: 02.939 |
|
two Luis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
1: 02.951 |
|
3 Max Verstappen SEE Red bull racing |
1: 03.477 |
|
4 4 Landau Norris NEITHER McLaren |
1: 03.626 |
|
5 5 Alexander Albon SUNRISE Red bull racing |
1: 03.868 |
Lando Norris was a brilliant fourth, the McLaren driver recovered from a mistake in his first race that forced him to back down to put everything together when he mattered in the second races, beating Alexander Albon by just 0.024s.
Racing Point had been strong on Friday, with Sergio Pérez confirming that encouraging pace with sixth and teammate Lance Stroll ninth. However, there was no such good news for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc a disappointing seventh as he had just moved on to Q3 in tenth.
His teammate Sebastian Vettel didn’t even do that, the German got the start in Q2: he will start the race on Sunday from 11, albeit as the leading driver with the option of free tires.
READ MORE: ‘I thought we had more on hand’ – Vettel ‘surprised’ by the start of the second quarter while Ferrari struggles in Austria
Carlos Sainz was eighth for McLaren, with Daniel Ricciardo making sure Renault had at least one car in Q3 while the Australian completed the top 10.
So it’s an advantage that Mercedes heads to race day, with Verstappen lurking in the position he managed to turn into a victory this time last year. The scene is set.
Highlights: Austrian Grand Prix 2020
HOW IT HAPPENED
Q1 – Verstappen sets the pace as Russell beats both Alfa Romeos
Verstappen connected his early Red Bull gates to go faster after the first few races as Hamilton ran wide at Turn 10 and was forced to make a second run, leading to the second.
The second time around, Verstappen was a better step, improving at his previous peak, after Stroll was briefly the first of the pops, with Bottas beating his most decorated teammate, placing himself less than a tenth of the Brit.
Only Albon opted for a second race, the Thai driver easily progressed to 12th place, allowing him to take an additional set of soft tires for the remainder of the qualification.
At the other extreme, there was misery for Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen, as they were unable to escape the drop zone, the duo was disqualified by a brilliant George Russell at Williams, who was within the top 15 after the first few runs, just being knocked down to 17, 0.073s from the cut, which was an impressive result nonetheless.
Knocked Out: Magnussen, Russell, Giovinazzi, Raikkonen, Latifi
Austria standings: Vettel misses Q3
P2 – Vettel withdrew from qualification as Verstappen gets bold with the strategy
Red Bull rolled the dice with Verstappen in the first few races, screwing in a set of medium tires while everyone else went straight to the softs in an attempt to offset their strategy for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
His first race was not too good, but he improved in his second to go sixth faster, three tenths above the limit. His teammate Albon made a mistake in his first race, but luckily, he had an extra set of tires to redo, doing enough to pass third.
Up front, Hamilton was the fastest in the early races, but teammate Bottas usurped him in the seconds, the Silver Arrows in a league of his own, as they comfortably occupied the top two spots in the ranking.
Norris was impressive too, the McLaren driver was fourth fastest, ahead of the impressive Racing Point duo and his more experienced teammate Sainz.
However, there was bad news for Ferrari, Leclerc had just finished tenth, but Vettel’s short final lap meant he was not so lucky, the German finished 11th to force him out of qualifying. However, he was very close, with only four tenths dividing fourth and eleventh.
Knocked Out: Vettel, Gasly, Kvyat, Ocon, Grosjean
Q3 – Bottas defends Hamilton as Norris stars
It was Bottas’ lead after the first few races as the Finn beat Hamilton ahead of Verstappen and Albon’s two Red Bulls as Stroll and Ricciardo opted for a single run.
After the first few runs, the eight boxed for new boots and fuel splashes, with the two Mercedes the last two joining the fray. Bottas seemed to have his Mercedes perfectly connected as he nailed the corner opening sequence, only to run wide on Turn 4 and bounce off the gravel.
Hamilton will have seen his teammate run off track, and kept his head down, setting up a pair of purple mini-sectors in the intermediate circuit, but he couldn’t find enough time in the first sector to usurp his teammate.
This was Mercedes’ front row block number 65, tying Ferrari’s historical record, and the first since Silverstone almost exactly a year ago. Meanwhile, Bottas now has three poles in Austria, more than anywhere else.
Norris was on pace for Q2 and delivered when he imported once again in Q3 to secure the best fourth place on the grid, while Albon and Perez recorded exactly the same time, Albon took fifth place by virtue of accomplishing the feat. First.
Interestingly, Leclerc ranked seventh with a time that was 0.920s slower than last year, when he took pole position in Austria.
THE KEY QUOTE
Valtteri Bottas: “I missed these feelings, you know, qualifying shakes are something special when you push the car to the limit. Obviously, I’ve been preparing for this for a long time; it feels so good, I can’t say more than that. Our The team has done an incredible job, it seems that we are in our own league. “
WHATS NEXT?
The Austrian Grand Prix starts at 1510 local time, which is 1210 UTC. It looks like Mercedes is in a prime position to start its title defense with a one-two, but Verstappen in third place is pretty much sitting on the medium tires, and his Red Bull came to life in last year’s race as his car handled hot conditions better.
READ MORE: Mercedes DAS system was legal, as Red Bull’s protest was rejected
ON BOARD: Valtteri Bottas pole position lap in Austria
