With a newly released contract extension in the back, an inspired Valtteri Bottas got the bit between his teeth to beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to pole position as super-sub Nico Hulkenberg took a remarkable third for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The Finn set the pace in every part of qualifying, but was on the back foot after the first run in Q3, when Hamilton rode to the top of the time sheets. But Bottas refused to rattle and although Hamilton improved again on his next attempt, this time the Finn had an answer.
This was his 13th career pole position and sets him up nicely for the second consecutive race at Silverstone, after suffering the misery of a tire deflection the last time he finished second, with the Finn likely to be captivated by the fact that he the last two races he started from P1.
But the most impressive performance came from Nico Hulkenberg’s pink car. The German was parachuted to replace Sergio Perez, following the positive test of the Mexicans for Covid 19, last weekend, but failed to take the race due to an engine problem. This weekend has been much smoother, with Hulkenberg comfortably beating regular race driver and teammate Stroll in all segments of qualifying.
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1 Valtteri Bottas BOT Mercedes |
1: 25.154 |
|
2 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
1: 25,217 |
|
3 Nico Hulkenberg HUL Racing Point |
1: 26.082 |
|
4 Max Step VER Red Bull Racing |
1: 26.176 |
|
5 Daniel Ricciardo RIC Renault |
1: 26.297 |
His last effort was great, the former Renault racer set the third best time, within a second of the dominant Mercedes and one tenth of a second clear of Red Vers’s Max Verstappen. Daniel Riccardo was an impressive fifth, equaling Renault’s best of the year.
Stroll had no answer to Hulkenberg as he finished three places back in the sixth with Pierre Gasly continuing his brilliant start to the 2020 campaign with a stunning seventh for AlphaTauri. Charles Leclerc could not do better than eighth, which is Ferrari’s worst performance at Silverstone since 2014, with teammate Sebastian Vettel not escaping Q2.
Alexander Albon finished half a second behind teammate Verstappen, but he did at least comfortably through to this Q3 this weekend after an early break the last time-out. Lando Norris excludes the top 10 for McLaren.
70th Anniversary GP Qualification: Bottas takes sensational pole position
Q1 – Russell makes it four consecutive Q2 appearances
Bottas got the better of Hamilton in the opening goal, making the Finn the reigning world champion by 0.080 s edge to the fastest time. They were comfortably clear of the Red Bulls, with Alex Albon having a much fairer time this time around at Silverstone.
The Thai driver did two runs, his second good enough for third, one place clear of Max Verstappen, who was so confident of his pace that he only did the final run, allowing him to save tires for later in the session.
Elsewhere, there was drama for George Russell as he was severely blocked by Esteban Ocon, the Williams driver who described the Frenchman’s driving as “well dangerous”. Stewards said they would investigate the incident after the race.
Both drivers made it through, with Russell again impressed as he advanced to Q2 for the fourth consecutive race, again showing how much Williams has improved and how well the Briton is currently driving.
Daniil Kvyat walked wide at Stowe, reporting that he thought the floor was damaged during the off-track excursion. The AlphaTauri driver was the best placed driver to not make Q2, with Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi and the Alfa Romeos of Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen also dropped out.
Knocked out: Kvyat, Magnussen, Latifi, Giovinazzi, Raikkonen
70th Anniversary GP Qualification: Russell and Ocon almost clash
Q2 – Hulkenberg dies, but Vettel struggles
Bottas made it two of two in the 70th Jubilee GP qualifier as he set the pace again, although, interestingly, it was super sub Hulkenberg who was the fastest second, the Racing Point driver a whopping four tenths faster then teammate and regular race driver Lance Stroll, son of the team owner.
Hamilton finished only third, with nine of the top 10 putting their best laps on the medium. The outlier was Max Verstappen, who rolled the dice and ran the hards instead. Succeed and he would start the race on the most durable tire, allowing him to run deeper into the race before the fastest softer tire fits on lighter fuel.
Of course, he got the job done, with the ninth fastest time – but there was even more misery for Sebastian Vettel, as he failed to reach Q3 for the second time this year. That compared to missing Q3 only once last year.
The driver who replaced him at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, also got the baggage, as McLaren did not come for both Q3 for both for the first time this season. But maybe that’s no surprise – he’s only reached Q3 once in his five attempts at Silverstone.
Ocon, Grosjean and Russell were the other drivers not to make it into Q3.
Knocked out: Ocon, Vettel, Sainz, Grosjean, Russell
Q3 – Bottas holds his head to defeat Hamilton
Hamilton has had the better of Bottas in qualifying in the last three events, but the Finn had none at Silverstone this time. He found a rhythm early in the session and although he finished second, 0.116s adrift, after the first runs in Q3, he made no mistake on his last run to grab the prime starting spot for Sunday.
Ricciardo jumped in a quick lap on his first run to sit third, ahead of Hulkenberg, with Verstappen fifth as the Red Bull driver was unhappy with his medium tires. But that trio swapped positions after the final run, with Hulkenberg coming out on top, with Verstappen out, as Ricciardo slipped to fifth.
Albon was a strong sixth after the first rounds, but he dropped to ninth as Stroll, Leclerc and Gasly all improved, while Norris remained through the 10th and final of the rounds.
The main quote
“It feels good,” said pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. “I just love qualifying, especially when things are going well. It’s a nice feeling to get everything out of myself and out of the car. I think intentionally we made good moves from last weekend, which is why I think the qualifying match was better for me than last weekend. Very happy and, again, proud to drive this amazing car – it’s so fast. ”
What comes next?
The 70th anniversary Grand Prix starts at 1410 local time, which is 1110 UTC. Mercedes starts on pole for the ninth consecutive race at Silverstone, and have ruled out their 67th front row, extending records on both counts. Bottas has fallen back in the title race, but can he ignite his championship load again by converting to a second-place finish of the season?
