- Finn faster than Briton by 0.256sec at the Nürburgring
- Verstappen third for Red Bull, Ferrari’s Leclerc fourth
Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in Germany. With only one hour of practice before qualifying after poor weather had curtailed running, the Finn found fine form to put in a superlative lap. He beat his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton into second, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc returned the Scuderia a superb fourth, with Alexander Albon fifth for Red Bull.
Verstappen had put in an impressive first hot run in Q3 setting a time of 1min 25.744sec, looking particularly strong through the first two sectors. The margins were very tight nonetheless, with Bottas six-hundredths and Hamilton eight-hundredths back. The track was still evolving as more rubber went down, however, and the final laps were crucial. Hamilton edged in front through the middle sector but Bottas in his wake was stringing together a finely honed run, across the entire lap. He finished with a 1:25.269, 0.256 clear of his teammate. It was a statement of intent and a superb piece of pressure execution by the Finn.
Continue reading…
