Verstappen crossed the line first, his lap greeted with huge cheers from the main grandstand, and despite
late improvements by both Bottas and Hamilton, the Mercedes duo were unable to usurp the Dutchman.
The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel line up fourth and fifth with Verstappen’s team-
mate Pierre Gasly sixth.
Leclerc hit the wall in Q1 after losing control of his Ferrari at the final corner. But swift repairs by his team
allowed the Monegasque to carry on.
“The car has felt good all weekend and it was flying in qualifying,” said Verstappen, moments after
capturing pole.
“I am very happy about today. There is still a race to do and that is the most important thing.”
Hamilton, who holds a 63-point lead over Verstappen in the standings, said: “We always target first, but it
got away from me.
“We are in a good position to fight for the win so we will be pushing hard for the victory tomorrow.
“I am always down for a fight. It is a long way down to turn one. It is not easy to overtake but hopefully we
can give them a run for their money.”
British rookie George Russell believes he is in contention to race alongside Hamilton at Mercedes next
season.
The 21-year-old Englishman has impressed for the below-par Williams team this year, and here delivered
both his and the British outfit’s best qualifying result of the campaign.
Russell finished 16th, putting his Williams above both Racing Points and the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo,
too. He was also 1.3 sec faster than Robert Kubica in the sister Williams, extending his record over the Pole
to a perfect 12-0 over one lap.
Russell is on the books at Mercedes and his impressive displays will provide team principal Toto Wolff with
something to think about over the summer break as the sport’s all-conquering constructor determine
whether to retain Bottas for another year.
The future of British motor racing is in safe hands. Following on from Russell’s display, Lando Norris
finished seventh.
The 19-year-old, who has had the beating of McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz all weekend, qualified one
place ahead of the Spaniard.
PA