Valtteri Bottas secured pole position for the inaugural race of the 2020 Formula One season, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton on pole position by 0.012s.
Bottas secured pole despite sliding off the track and into the gravel on his last fast lap, just as Hamilton was on a faster lap behind. Despite the yellow flags being raised to warn Hamilton about the incident, they did not appear to obstruct Hamilton’s progress and the reigning champion wasted most of his time on teammate running the last two corners.
The qualifying result ignites the battle between Mercedes’ teammates, but the first signs are that they are in a class of their own, with a half-second advantage over the rest of the field. Speaking of how his lap moved and Bottas’ turn in front of him, Hamilton said he wasted no time as a result.
“No, no, it wasn’t confusing,” he said. “I got out of turn 4 and there was a big cloud of dust and I didn’t know where the car was or anything and I managed to see that Valtteri was about to hit the track. Fortunately it didn’t affect the lap and he kept his position.”
Hamilton later added that he did not see the yellow flags to warn him about Bottas’ mistake.
Max Verstappen clinched third place on the grid at Red Bull with a lap time of 0.538 seconds from Bottas, but he could have a strategic advantage by starting on medium compound tires, while the Mercedes ahead is ready to start on the least durable softs. The starting tire for the top ten drivers is determined by the compound they used to set their best time in the second qualifying session, and Verstappen was able to sneak into the top ten shootings using the means rather than the softs. Bottas then explained that Mercedes had considered the same strategy, but opted against it.
Lando Norris secured fourth place with an impressive lap in his McLaren, which means he will line up ahead of Alex Albon in second Red Bull in fifth. Norris was just 0.149 seconds behind Verstappen and 0.345 seconds behind teammate Carlos Sainz, who will line up eighth on the grid.
Sergio Pérez ranked sixth for Racing Point, fulfilling part of the promise the car showed in practice and testing, and ranking ahead of Charles Leclerc’s fastest Ferrari in seventh. Ferrari, already planning a overhaul of its aerodynamic package for Hungary, appears to be in trouble as Leclerc’s teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to make it to the top ten shootings.
Lance Stroll was ninth in the second Racing Point ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the fastest Renault in the tenth.
Vettel will start 11th after missing a place in Q3 by 0.165s to Leclerc, Ferrari’s teammate. Vettel made a small mistake in Turn 1 on the exit corners, but most of all his lap time confirmed the team’s fears that he just isn’t fast enough at this stage of the season.
The car, which operated to the same specification as the completed test, while rivals Mercedes and Red Bull brought significant updates, was at risk throughout midfield. But to underscore how tight the battle behind Mercedes is, Vettel was just 0.295 from Albon’s Q2 time, which was good enough for third place in that session. However, the Ferrari car renewal for Hungary may not come soon enough.
The two Alpha Tauris by Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat will line up 12th and 13th on the grid behind Vettel and ahead of Esteban Ocon, who returned to F1 with Renault after a year out of the sport. Romain Grosjean completed the order in Q2 and will line up 15th, but was just 0.005s behind Ocon’s effort.
Kevin Magnussen will start 16th on the grid after failing to exit the first qualifying session. He was just 0.070 seconds less than teammate Grosjean and a place in Q2 in an incredibly tight opening session. Williams’ George Russell will start behind the Haas driver and was one of the qualifying stars after missing a Q2 spot for just 0.073s and his rookie teammate Nicholas Latifi, who will start last, for 0.590s. .
The two Alfa Romeos by Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen will start 18th and 19th, with 2007 champion Raikkonen saying the team “was wrong” in their positioning on the track before their final attempt to establish a quick time.
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