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Valtteri Bottas had never been qualified by a team-mate in Sochi earlier this week. And after Saturday's qualifying session, he still has not done it. The Finn kept this superb Russian record by taking a good lap in Q3 to win his second pole position of the year.
SEE COMPLETE RESULTS
Bottas had set a marker early in the final game, becoming the fastest in the first few tries, after Lewis Hamilton looked compelling at the start of the session. On the second innings, however, Hamilton bombarded the first sector, but passed lap 7 and had to interrupt the lap, while Bottas remained calm and lowered the bar again.
Ferrari could not get closer, Sebastian Vettel having managed only half a second behind Bottas to take third place. He led his teammate Kimi Raikkonen to close a second Ferrari line, while Kevin Magnussen managed to take the best of the final rounds of the third quarter. Haas finished fifth to tie his best start to the season.
But the day belonged to Bottas …
Q1 – HAMILTON IS OUT OF THE FASTEST BLOCKS
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Sochi with a best time of 32.310 seconds in Q1, 0.784 less than last year's Sebastian Vettel. Bottas finished second, while the boys of Red Bull, although they know they would leave the back Sunday, had fun, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo taking the P3 and P4. Interestingly for Sunday's race, they looked better than Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel – Vettel's best time in sixth place, just one second off Hamilton's worrying pace.
Brendon Hartley, of Toro Rosso, complained about the vibrations of his STR13, McLaren's Fernando Alonso, Sergey Sirotkin of Williams – who underwent a small rotation towards the end of the session – and his two sisters, Stoffel Vandoorne and Lance. Walk.
The segment was nervous for Renault, while Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg led only P14 and P15 – in the bubble of the stall zone while Sauber's Charles Leclerc led the midfielder in P7.
Q2 – HAMILTON FASTEST AS FOUR FOUR FOR ULTRAS
No driver has ever finished among the top four in Russia after scoring more than twice in the race. Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers on the ultrasoft purple tire more durable than the faster hypersofts at the beginning of the second quarter. The Q3 riders need to start the race on the tires, they set their best Q2 time, so both teams rolled the dice strategically to see if they could climb the more robust tire segment and get an advantage . In the race.
Fortunately for them, their speed advantage was such that they were successful, with Hamilton once again scoring less than 0.149 in Bottas, with Vettel and Raikkonen four-tenths off third and fourth.
Pierre Gasly of Red Bull and Toro Rosso not bothering to go out, knowing that they will all go back – and that Renault has chosen to let the segment pass, in order to leave them a choice of tires free in race – all drivers who ran in Q2 actually got a pass for Q3.
Leclerc once again paved the way for Sauber, impressing around the Sochi Autodrome after struggling there Friday, as the lack of riders allowed his teammate Marcus Ericsson to qualify for the first time since 2015 Italian Grand Prix. Both Force Indias and the two Haas cars also made the cut.
Q3 – BOTTAS COME FROM BEHIND TO TAKE POLE
So Ferrari was in second place in the first quarter, four tenths of the second quarter … were they keeping their powder dry in the third quarter? Unfortunately, the answer for the tifosi was a categorical no.
With the Ferrari SF71H that seems to lack the fluidity of the Mercedes W09 around Sochi, the second line was the best for hope, with Sebastian Vettel taking third place ahead of Raikkonen, with Vettel just half a second off the pace.
This ultimate rhythm, however, does not come from Hamilton, but from Bottas. The Finn was careful behind his team-mate throughout the weekend and it was expected that Hamilton's No. 44 Mercedes would do business in qualifying in the same way as in Singapore with its now-famous tower. Magic".
When Hamilton bombed the first sector, the Sochi autodrome was preparing to increase the amount of dust produced in Hamilton. But a rare mistake on the part of the Briton when he entered turn 7 sent the Mercedes driver into the starting area, ruining his turn. His qualifications were over and he did not even bother finishing his round. Meanwhile, Bottas, Raikkonen and Vettel continued to roll, but the Ferrari simply could not keep pace with the Finn on a circuit where he feels good. Bottas improved again to secure the sixth pole of his career, 0.145 points ahead of Hamilton.
It was a welcome tone for Bottas, who won his first win here last year, after his recent admission that his lack of results had exhausted his trusted stores. No wonder then that he was shaking when he got out of his car at the end of the session …
In the enthusiasm, few of them noticed Kevin Magnussen's superb final effort, which saw the Danish driver Haas finish P5, surpassing the first midfielders of Q3 midfielder Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc of Sauber. Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean finished eighth and ninth in the second cars Force India and Haas, while Marcus Ericsson was 10th.
So, a captivating session in Russia with an unexpected result. Friday's race simulations showed Ferrari and Mercedes side-by-side on an entire Grand Prix. But does the Scuderia have a chance to prevent a bleaching of the Silver Arrows – especially if Bottas sacrifices his race to help Hamilton? Sunday's race should be a fascinating chess game of a race between the two teams.
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