NO HAMIL-TON IN PORTUGAL
Portuguese Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1, Today, 3pm
BY BILL MILLS
LEWIS HAMILTON was denied his 100th pole position after being pipped to top spot by team-mate Valtteri Bottas in a bizarre qualifying session for today’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
The Mercedes drivers locked out the front row of the grid for the third round of the season, with Hamilton’s championship rival Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.
Bottas headed Hamilton by a mere 0.007 seconds but Verstappen had a faster lap ruled out for exceeding track limits.
The Dutchman, who is a single point behind Hamilton in the standings, returned for one final attempt but never looked like challenging the black machines.
He later complained about traffic during his final run.
Hamilton was bidding to become the first Formula One driver to reach three figures, but his wait will go on for at least another week.
He said: “It was a great job by Valtteri and for us as a team. We have to be happy with that.
“Surprised to be on the front row, definitely not expected this weekend — so we’re delighted.
“I don’t think we can ever be satisfied, that’s what we exist to do, to continue to push forward.
“But I’m definitely happy with the work we are doing and the steps that we are taking.”
Sergio Perez finished fourth in the other Red Bull with Brit Lando Norris seventh in his McLaren.
George Russell qualified 11th, his best result for Williams.
The young British driver continues to come of age and he finished just 0.057 seconds shy of making it to Q3.
Daniel Ricciardo was leapfrogged in the final moments of Q1 and finished a poor 16th, more than one second slower than Norris in the sister car.
THE GRID
1 Bottas 2 Hamilton 3 Verstappen 4 Perez 5 Sainz 6 Ocon 7 Norris 8 Leclerc 9 Gasly 10 Vettel
Mercedes GP Mercedes GP Red Bull
Red Bull Ferrari Alpine McLaren Ferrari Scuderia AT Aston Martin 1:18.348 1:18.355 1:18.746 1:18.890 1:19.039 1:19.042 1:19.116 1:19.306 1:19.475 1:19.659