NÜRBURGRING, Germany: Valtteri Bottas produced a blistering track record on his final qualifying lap on Saturday to edge Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and claim pole position for the Eifel Grand Prix.
Bottas clocked a best lap of one minute and 25.269 seconds to beat the championship leader by two-tenths of a second in very cold conditions following only one practice session after Friday’s running was canceled due to fog.
It was Bottas’s third pole this year and the 14th of his career, a feat that he hopes can help him keep alive his championship challenge. After winning in Russia two weeks ago he lies 44 points behind Hamilton.
The two ‘black arrows’ were pushed all the way by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who lost grip on his final run and wound up third ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Alex Albon in the second Red Bull car.
“It is such a nice feeling when you do it on the last lap — my last lap was spot on,” said Bottas.
“It’s been pretty tricky with short practice and these conditions getting the tires in the sweet spot, that was one of the bigger things today.
The chilly autumn weather has shaped practice and qualifying. Friday’s practice sessions were wiped out by fog and rain.
“I believe I can win,” said Bottas. “That’s the only goal for tomorrow and hopefully we can have a good start.”
Both Bottas and Hamilton suggested F1 can do away with Friday practice, condensing race weekends into two days.
“I don’t think we need to be in on Fridays,” said Hamilton. “Currently, in a normal weekend, I feel like there is too much practice,” agreed Bottas.
Hamilton, who needs just one victory to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix victories, had to settle for second on the grid.
“Valtteri is two-tenths ahead and he did a good job, so congratulations to him,” he said. “There is plenty of time for me to regain.”
Leclerc surprised himself with his speed to make the second row.
“Since the start of the season, we have struggled to make our tires work whenever it has been cold, but today it just seemed like it worked out for us.
Team-mate Sebastian Vettel qualified 11th after being out-qualified by Leclerc for the eighth consecutive weekend.
“You know, Seb is a four-time champion and I am sure he will come back to where he needs to be.”
Daniel Ricciardo was sixth ahead of his Renault team-mate Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris of McLaren, Sergio Perez of Racing Point and Carlos Sainz in the second McLaren.
Shortly before qualifying, Racing Point announced that Nico Hulkenberg would step in for Lance Stroll who was “unwell.”
Hulkenberg, who covered for Stroll’s teammate Sergio Perez at Silverstone, was called at short notice from a Cologne cafe. After a dash up the autobahn he made it to the track and without any practice, qualified at the back of the grid.
The session began in bright, cold conditions with the air temperature struggling to exceed 10 degrees, but no repeat of the fog and rain that led to the cancelation of both practice sessions on Friday.
Hulkenberg was one of the drivers out early in the session to familiarise himself with Stroll’s settings.
Hamilton soon laid down a marker in Q2 in 1min 26.183sec before Verstappen trimmed that by almost half a second. Albon took third while Bottas slipped to eighth.
On their second Q2 runs, Hamilton regained top spot while Verstappen held off an improved Bottas in third.
In the top ten shootout, Verstappen was fastest on his first run in 1:25.744 ahead of the two Mercedes men, with Bottas topping Hamilton and Albon fourth in the second Red Bull.
Hamilton responded by going quickest but it was not enough to resist Bottas who stormed through to take pole.
’Spot on’ Bottas edges Hamilton to take pole at Eifel GP
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’Spot on’ Bottas edges Hamilton to take pole at Eifel GP
- It was Bottas’s third pole this year and the 14th of his career
NEOM concede at the death for the second week in a row as Al-Taawoun salvage late draw
- NEOM narrowly lost to Al-Nassr 1-0 last weekend after Mohamed Simakan scored an injury-time winner
- Al-Taawoun followed up with a late equalizer by Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi to deny them three points
RIYADH: The Saudi Pro League returned for Matchday 26, with the table beginning to take its final shape as the season enters its final quarter. The title contenders kick off on Friday and Saturday, but Thursday’s action focused on a clash between upper mid-table sides NEOM and Al-Taawoun, alongside three relegation-battlers — Al-Najma, Damac and Al-Kholood — attempting to improve their standings.
In Tabuk, NEOM played out a 2-2 draw with Al-Taawoun, this season’s surprise package under the returning Pericles Chamusca. After a brilliant start to the campaign that saw them spend much of the season in the top four, a poor run of just one win in their last eight games has followed.
Al-Taawoun’s late equaliser was vital in their bid to maintain a spot in the top five. With Al-Ittihad lurking just three points behind and yet to play this weekend, every point matters for the Wolves of Qassim. Regardless, it has become a painful second half of the season for Chamusca’s side, as they now sit 12 points behind the top four.
After a heroic performance from Luis Maximiano against Al-Nassr last weekend, NEOM were unfortunate to leave Riyadh empty-handed after conceding at the death. There were still plenty of positives from the defeat, as Christophe Galtier’s squad appear to have finally hit second gear this season.
Calm and collected against Al-Nassr, they repeated the same approach against Al-Taawoun. Knowing their opponents thrive on space in the transition, NEOM prevented them from accessing wingers Marin Petkov and Biel, leaving star striker Roger Martinez isolated for most of the match.
Amadou Koné and Abdoulaye Doucouré did their part to disrupt the centre of Al-Taawoun’s block, with the former driving forward and the latter drifting in between the lines to create the opener. In the 23rd minute, Al-Taawoun’s defence were pulled apart as Luciano Rodríguez met Doucouré’s precise through ball to slot home.
NEOM maintained their composure throughout the match, but it took a wonder strike from Martinez to bring the visitors level in the 70th minute, the Colombian producing a superb strike from distance.
It only took six minutes for NEOM to respond. Saïd Benrahma broke down the Al-Taawoun defence once again, releasing Alexandre Lacazette for a powerful finish to restore the hosts’ lead.
Despite the strong performance from NEOM, they ultimately fell victim to another late setback. Substitute Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi surged down the flank in stoppage time before cutting inside and curling a precise finesse shot beyond Maximiano to salvage a point.
Elsewhere, Damac continued their resurgence under Fabio Carrille with a 3-1 victory over Al-Najma, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. The win moves Damac six points clear of Al-Riyadh in the relegation zone, while Al-Najma sit 14 points from safety with eight matches remaining.
Meanwhile, Al-Hazem secured a late victory after Abdulaziz Al-Dwehe netted an 86th-minute winner in a 2-1 triumph over Al-Kholood. It was a frustrating night for the Saudi Pro League’s all-time leading scorer Omar Al-Somah, who missed a penalty for the winners in the 60th minute.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Fayha hosting Al-Ettifaq and Al-Riyadh welcoming Al-Ittihad at 10:00pm. The headline fixture of the evening — kicking off at the same time — sees second-placed Al-Ahli travel to face fourth-placed Al-Qadsiah. Victory for Al-Ahli against tough opposition would strengthen their title push, while defeat for Al-Qadsiah could effectively end their unlikely championship hopes.
