F1: Few could do what Bottas-Hamilton does

Hamilton has great respect for his teammate (Photo: AFP)

Ad

Valtteri Bottas With a lap of 1: 13.609, he achieved the 15th pole position of his career at Imola, which in addition to writing the pole position of Mercedes. The German Guard has been undefeated in the time trial since last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, or fourteen race weekends.

“You always have to fight for pole, they never give up easily. I really enjoy driving on this track, we can do it on floor gas. I knew I still needed to improve on my last nail and it feels really good when I can find the time. I worked hard all the way through turns two and three, and it finally came together at the last minute, just like the last sector I had suffered before. I expect a great battle in the race, plus one of the longest roads leading to each corner, so there is no doubt that Lewis and Max (Verstappen) will hold on to me, but I couldn’t wait for a better place. ” said the Finnish pilot.

A sensational lap on a sensational track

Take a tour of Imola with @ValtteriBottas #ImolaGP # F1 @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/adDrbeIA38

– Formula 1 (@ F1) October 31, 2020

Mercedes ninth front row this year Hamilton completed, the British runner was 97 regiments behind the post.

“Valtteri did a great job while I got a pretty bad lap. However, these things happen, you can’t always be perfect. The track is pretty amazing! It is very fast and I am glad to be here, and also that we were able to do it. he started the evaluation and then he covered the odds on Sunday as well. – Red Bull tends to have a very strong competitive pace. But it’s a shame that while it’s a great feeling to drive on the track, I feel like we’re going to have a pretty boring race. It could be overtaken at the end of a long straight, but it is quite narrow and difficult to follow the other car. Then, as soon as you pass Turn 1, the train sets off, as there is no possibility of overtaking anywhere else. It will be quite difficult to stay close to the one ahead. At the same time, I hope that the DRS will give us some chance to overtake at Turn 1. As you can see, we are half a tenth behind, but to have a chance to overtake it must be about two seconds faster than the one in front . However, I will give it my all. “

Bottas’ performance did not go without a word: “I think the result now speaks for itself, and I don’t really need to add much. Talk in the field and that’s great in Valtteri. I don’t think there are many who can do this afterwards. I have great respect. “

If Mercedes scores at least 11 points on Sunday, it will secure the Constructors’ World Championship title four races before the end, giving the past the record set by Ferrari between 1999 and 2004.

Third Verstappen Closed with the Red Bull, however, for a long time it seemed that he would have to say goodbye already in the second stage, as he had lost engine power and had to mount his car.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but I had to remove the engine cover as well and the case clearly didn’t help as I ended up with a shot to put on the medium tires. It worked, but things didn’t work out after that. I was also unable to warm up my tires properly on my first nail after I got into traffic and I didn’t get up to speed either. Our stopwatch was a bit tangled ” He pointed out, saying they could have approached the Bottas in a softer classification.

“I don’t expect to have beaten Mercedes, it would have been good but nevertheless make the timer a little tighter and more exciting – he added, and like Hamilton, stressed that he doesn’t see much of a chance to overtake. – Our race pace was good and we hope it will be the same on Sunday. I am confident that we will be good enough in terms of top speed. I don’t think overtaking is easy and then we’ll see what we can do. “

The fourth starting point with AlphaTauri this year is brilliant Pierre Gasly acquired. The French driver, who signed a one-year extension this week, is confident that his team will be able to achieve a good result in the third home race this year. Gasly scored his first career win at Monza, while he was eliminated at Mugello.

“I had a good time all day, free practice was good too. We even made some changes before the stopwatch and the car got even better. I also managed to run strong laps and my goal was to achieve my best qualifying result so far. I’m glad you did ” He said, also talking about extending his contract.

“I’ve been aware of the decision for a while now, so it didn’t really change anything. I have to say I’m very happy with the way we work with the engineers, they put a strong car on me every weekend. I feel like now we we have managed to get even more out of it. The car worked very well, Danyiil (Kvjat) was also in the top ten, so far our weekend has been great and I’m sure we can get good results on Sunday. ” – highlighted the Frenchman who last started from fourth position in last year’s German Grand Prix, who hopes that this time his starting point will bring him a solid score, not a defeat.

P4 is @PierreGASLYis the best classification for @ AlphaTauriF1

And he has done it on a track just 15 km from his factory. #ImolaGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/nt7gfCF3MO

– Formula 1 (@ F1) October 31, 2020

In connection with the new contract, the Red Bull consultant, Helmut Marko He also spoke, making a strong hint as to who Gasly’s teammate would be next year.

“Gasly is having a great season but he cannot drive at Red Bull next year as AlphaTauri will need a strong driver as he will be a very young driver to be his teammate.” – he referred to Cunoda Yukira, who is racing in Formula One, which means that Kvja and even Albon could be left without a seat in 2021.