Hamilton On Pole Ahead Of Bottas & Verstappen In Spain.

Too Hot To Handle

Lewis Hamilton claimed his 92nd career pole ahead of tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The Brit’s fifth pole position at the Catalonian Circuit.

A 5️⃣th pole at @Circuitcat_eng! ?

Can @LewisHamilton covert it to a 5️⃣th win in Barcelona on Sunday? ? #SpanishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/4F80ot3x2J

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 15, 2020

The Brackley based outfit who took pole at eight of the last nine Spanish GP’s were a formidable seven tenths clear of the field.

Claiming yet another 1-2 during Saturday’s qualifying. As Lewis Hamilton led Valtteri Bottas by miniscule 0.059’s of a second.

“I knew it was going to be close with Lewis, as always.” said Bottas.

“I was improving throughout the session, especially in sector three, but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s a long way down to Turn 1 tomorrow and I’ll be aiming to get there in first position.”

Red Bull vs Pink Panther

The Black Arrows nearest challenger was once again Max Verstappen who secured third for Red Bull.

Verstappen: “I think we did a good job in qualifying, extracting everything we could from the car.”

“We know that over one lap we struggle a bit compared to Mercedes but on the long runs it is all closer and we can extract a bit more from our car.”

Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez was fourth, the Mexican – who sat out the double header at Silverstone, edging out team-mate Lance Stroll in fifth.

Alexander Albon was a solid sixth in the other Red Bull after being at risk of elimination in Q2.

The Thai will line up just ahead of McLaren duo Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris.

Both of whom qualified in seventh & eight respectively.

Scuderia Struggle

Charles Leclerc was in the Top 6 comfortably throughout qualifying’s opening two stages.

However the Monégasque’s ‘Scarlet Red’ SF1000 lost a bit of pace in the final part, as Leclerc ended the session in ninth.

It was much of the same for team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Despite improving after a chassis change coming into the weekend Vettel missed out on Q3 for the third consecutive time.

Although it was marginal as the four-time world champion was only 0.002 off progressing and 2 tenths back from team-mate Leclerc.

Vettel, who was eleventh will be the first of the mid-field runners with a free choice of starting tyre.

Vettel: “It was one of the better sessions this weekend but still not good enough. It’s up and down, there are some things I can’t really put an answer to but I’m trying to do everything I can, that’s all I can do at the moment.”

“I am always trying to keep my head up, even though there is not much reason right now.”

The Red Star

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly shows his class once more as the Frenchman secures the final place in the top ten.

After being dropped from Red Bull during last year’s summer break, Gasly was only a tenth off his replacement Albon in the works car.

Gasly: “I think we can be pleased as a team to get another Q3 this weekend, especially because it was a difficult Friday yesterday and I didn’t feel so comfortable in the car.”

Another impressive qualifying from @PierreGASLY ?#SpanishGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/NVuzTXGK5Y

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 15, 2020

Räikkönen’s Resurgence

Former Ferrari world champion Kimi Räikkönen progressed into Q2 for the first time this season.

The Finn who will start in fourteenth, was only a few tenths adrift of a Q3 appearance despite being on the medium tyre.

Räikkönen: “It was definitely a positive day, the car felt a lot better and it gave me the confidence to drive it how I wanted.”

“We are moving in the right direction and we know what we have to do to be in the points tomorrow – be faster than the guys in front of us.”