SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom – A few days after inking a contract extension to remain with Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas claimed the pole for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit.
Bottas led every round of qualifying, topping Q3 to claim the pole thanks to a fast lap of 1:25.154. His teammate, championship leader Lewis Hamilton, qualified second by a scant .063 seconds.
Pole today feels really good. It’s a privilege to drive this amazing car – it’s so quick. I love qualifying when it’s like that, it was great fun,” Bottas said. “We made some tweaks to the set-up from last weekend and for me the performance was much better today. I knew I’d have an opportunity to improve on the second run in Q3 and I pulled the sectors together, I got absolutely everything out of myself and the car. A one-stopper will be difficult with the compounds we have this weekend – but I know the team will be looking at all the options for tomorrow. I think the race pace is there and I hope I can get another good start like last weekend. I’m in a good position for the race, but we all know that the points are given on Sundays.”
Making his second start for Racing Point following a second positive COVID-19 test for Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg turned in a stunning performance to qualify third. It is Hulkenberg’s best Formula One start since the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, when he qualified second.
Max Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull, with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo qualifying fifth. The remainder of the top-10 includes Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Alexander Albon and McLaren’s Lando Norris.