- Finn beats teammate by seven-thousandths of second
- Red Bulls of Verstappen and Pérez third and fourth
Valtteri Bottas was rightly pleased with his pole – decided by the slenderest of margins – for the Portuguese Grand Prix. It will not bother the Finn one jot but it could not be ignored that he did so in an underwhelming qualifying session defined by the lack of grip at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. If Formula One wants a spectacle to sell on a Saturday afternoon, it must at least give the drivers the right conditions to show off their skills.
Bottas beat his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton into second place, denying the world champion his 100th pole by seven-thousandths of a second, with Max Verstappen taking third for Red Bull.
