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Valtteri Bottas takes pole at the Emilia-Romagna GP by 0.097s when Lewis Hamilton is denied; Max Verstappen survives an engine scare in Q2 but finishes third; Alex Albon sixth, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo in the top five
By Matt Morlidge
Last Updated: 10/31/20 2:55 pm
0:57
Valtteri Bottas takes pole from his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in his final qualifying time at Imola.
Valtteri Bottas secured his fourth pole position of the season beating championship leader Lewis Hamilton with his final qualifying lap for the Emilia-Romagna GP, while Pierre Gasly also starred in AlphaTauri.
Hamilton was ahead of Bottas for much of the condensed first day of Imola’s return to Formula 1, but, turning the tide on the man who has dominated 2020, the Finn outscored Hamilton by 0.097s at the end of Q3 to win. what was exclusive. Battle of Mercedes.
“Valtteri did a great job,” said Hamilton, who is aiming for a 93rd F1 victory in Sunday’s race. “It was a pretty poor lap for me. These things happen, you can’t always do it perfect.”
Bottas, after two disappointing races in Germany and Portugal, added: “It’s going to be a good fight. [tomorrow]. “
Max Verstappen survived an engine scare in Q2 to join the fight for pole, but it was essentially never a factor and finished a distant third – half a second off the beat.
Gasly throws himself into the second row as Albon fights
It was a tough hour from the start for Red Bull, not only because of the hectic work required for Verstappen’s car, but also because Alex Albon, under pressure, endured another tough session.
Albon had multiple lap times knocked out for breaking the track boundaries of the iconic circuit, as well as a spin, on his way to sixth on the grid.
0:47 Red Bull’s Alex Albion spins during qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
That opened the door for other midfield drivers, and Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo took advantage of what Sky F1’s Martin Brundle described as the afternoon’s “highlight laps”.
Gasly’s display, in the week he learned he would be staying at AlphaTauri for 2020 and not replacing Albon, was particularly impressive in leading the chasing group in fourth place, while Ricciardo in shape also deserves immense credit given that his Renault teammate, Esteban Ocon, did not. It doesn’t even make it to the final shootout.
“It was the best lap I have done so far this year,” admitted Ricciardo. “I’m excited”.
Charles Leclerc continued his brilliant form on Saturday to secure seventh place in what was another day of contrasting performances from the drivers at Ferrari, with four-time F1 champion Vettel overtaken by Williams’ George Russell for the second weekend in a row. and failed to reach Q3 for the ninth time in a row.
Daniil Kvyat was eighth, his first top-10 finish Saturday in an inconsistent season.
4:13 Williams’ George Russell talks about his impressive qualifying lap at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Sunday’s race, the first at Imola since 2006, starts at 12:10 p.m. M. On Sky Sports F1, starting at 10:30 a.m. M., And in addition to the fight up front, there will be several drivers who will need big recoveries, like Racing Point. drivers, who were surprisingly knocked out in Q2.
Perez will start 11th ahead of Ocon, who is equally out of position, while Stroll could only seal 15th place behind Russell in form and Vettel’s Ferrari.
Emilia-Romagna GP classification result
1. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
4. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault
6. Alex Albon, Red Bull
7. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
8. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri
9. Lando Norris, McLaren
10. Carlos Sainz, McLaren
Knocked out in Q2
11. Sergio Pérez, Racing Point
12. Esteban Ocon, Renault
13. George Russell, Williams
14. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
15. Lance Stroll, Racing Point
Knocked out in Q1
16. Romain Grosjean, Haas
17. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
18. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo
19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
20. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo
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