You probably wouldn’t be disrespectful to Valtteria Bottas, if we were to say that we were expecting in the first starting place Lewis Hamilton ali Max Verstappen.
All Finn managed to beat his teammate by a hair and secure his own 17th pole position in his career. So he will have to Hamilton on its jubilee and record 100. field waiting a little longer to conquer it, however, is only a matter of time.
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - pole position"It's a nice feeling to be in a pole position. It seems like quite some time has passed. Qualifications were a weak point for me in the first two races when trying to get the tires to optimum performance, but this weekend we worked hard and it paid off. I had an uncertain feeling all weekend with a soft rubber compound, it went better with a medium compound, just like last year. That’s why we tried again this year. Starting the race in the middleweight division gives us a good chance and that we can stay on the track longer. I have to focus on the start."
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 2nd place"Great work by Valtteri and team. We didn’t expect the first kind this weekend, so we have to be happy with that. It wasn’t my perfect circle, but I did my best. We can never be satisfied, what we need to do is continue to strive. I am definitely pleased with the work we are doing."
MaxVerstappen, Red Bull - 3rd place"The whole qualifier was hard to drive as I struggled with grip. The first lap in Q3 was solid, but on the fourth turn I was off the track. I was pretty sure we could still make a good last lap, but in the last sector I was bothered by the race car in front of me. It cost me a lot of time, but it’s what it is. Of course, it’s not ideal if you start the race with a different type, but we’ll do everything we can tomorrow to fight them in the race."
