2
Lewis Hamilton has said that his new Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas simply outperformed him after the Finn took his first career pole position in Bahrain on Saturday.
Hamilton had topped the timesheets at the end of both Q1 and Q2, and he opened the final session with a 1:28.792 lap time, which put him half a tenth ahead of his team-mate at that point, but Bottas soon struck back with a 1:28.769, lifting him into the pole position spot. Hamilton was two-hundredths of a second down after this, and he could not find any more time to dethrone him.
After qualifying, Hamilton openly praised Bottas' efforts. "Firstly, a big congratulations to Valtteri," he said. "He's been working so hard, he's gelled so well with the team, and today he was just quicker than me, he did the better job, so hats off to him."
Of his own performance, the Briton added: "My first lap felt great, I looked up (at the television) and the time was so close, so I thought 'Wow, that was a great lap, he (Bottas) did a great job. But I was losing quite a bit of time through the first sector, it was generally my weaker point, and usually it's a stronger point for me, so I'll work on it for tomorrow.
"Valtteri found some great pace through the first sector; the second and third sectors ended up being quite good, but overall I was a little bit down. It was a great battle, that's how close quali should always be, it forces us to be on the limit. I'm generally happy with the job I did and it's great for the team to be one-two."
Mason Hawker
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
M. Verstappen
C. Sainz jr
C. Leclerc
Bahrain
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
Australia
Albert Park
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
United States of America
Las Vegas Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
134,147 comments on Sauber
2 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Valtteri Bottas
612,186 comments on Mercedes 57 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Mercedes
Replies (2)
Login to replyyellowfly81
Posts: 79
Seems like Lewis and Valtteri have a very good relationship, they're both very respectful, which is good to see!
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Hopefully this battle can continue now for the rest of the season, with the Ferraris in there too