Qualifying Report - Untouchable

By Dan Knutson

"I think for pole position they (Ferrari) are almost untouchable," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said before qualifying. Ferraris had dominated the practice sessions. Charles Leclerc, fastest in FP2 and FP3 in his Ferrari, was also quickest in Q1. But he blew his chances when he crashed in Q2. Then Sebastian Vettel only managed third in Q3 in his Ferrari. So when it was all over, Valtteri Bottas was on pole and his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was second.

"I'm really happy," Bottas said. "Ferrari have been strong all weekend."

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Hamilton and Bottas; Ferrari – Vettel and Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer –Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon; Williams Mercedes – Russell and Robert Kubica.

Giovinazzi would get a 10-place grid penalty because his Alfa required a new electronic control unit. Officials deemed that Gasly would have to start the race from the pit lane because he missed the signal to stop at the weigh bridge during FP2.

Leclerc was fastest in FP3 with a time of 1:41.604. That was 1.5 seconds faster than the opposition.

QUALIFYING 1

Bottas was the early leader in Q1 as he clocked a 1:42.430. His teammate Hamilton slid off down one of the escape road at Turn 3.

Then Vettel grabbed the top spot after turning a 1:42.348. Leclerc was having none of that and rammed in a 1:41.426.

Stroll, who crashed in FP2 now clipped the wall in Q1.

Halfway through the session Hamilton was 15th and on the bubble with Grosjean 16th and Ricciardo 14th.

Of course, Hamilton wasn't going to stay there long and he vaulted up to third behind Leclerc and Bottas.

As the minutes ticked down a number of drivers prepared to go back out in new tires. The track was getting faster and times were tumbling.

Gasly got a good tow and set a 1:41.335 for the lead. Teammate Verstappen flat spotted his tires and needed a new set. That helped him get fourth place.

The order further down changed and changed again as the track ramped up.

In the final seconds Kubica rammed into the barriers at the Castle turns. He was unhurt. That brought out the red flags and ruined the final laps of several drivers.

When it was over, the top 15 drivers who progressed to Q2 were: Gasly, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Bottas, Vettel, Raikkonen, Giovinazzi, Albon, Perez, Kvyat, Norris, Magnussen and Ricciardo.

The five drivers knocked out of Q1 were: Stroll, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Russell and Kubica.

QUALIFYING 2

The 15-minute Q2 session was delayed while the wrecked car was removed and the barriers were repaired. That meant that the track would cool off even more as the sun was going down and temperatures were dropping.

When things got going again, the Ferraris headed out on the medium compound Pirelli slicks. The rest of the cars were fitted with the soft compound.

Bottas got in an early fast lap with a 1:4.270. Moments later Verstappen posted a 1:41.388.

Vettel's first attempt on the mediums didn't work and he was down in 11th. It went better for Leclerc who was fifth.

The drivers all stayed out for a second flying lap.

Then Leclerc hit the barriers at Turn 8 – the exact same spot where Kubica had crashed in Q1.

"I am stupid; I am stupid," he said dejectedly over the radio.

Leclerc, who had been fastest all through the weekend, had ruined his very good chances of getting his second F1 pole.

Out came another red flag for repairs.

The order at the time was: Verstappen, Bottas, Hamilton, Perez, Leclerc, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Sainz, Norris, Magnussen, Albon, Vettel, Ricciardo, Giovinazzi and Gasly.

Meanwhile the sun continued to set and the track continued to cool down.

After a 26-minute delay, Q2 was restarted at 6:24 p.m. local time. Sunset was at 7:31 p.m. There were seven minutes left in the session.

Vettel went out and moved from 11th to seventh and then to fifth. Kvyat clipped the wall, and Magnussen slid off on an escape road.

The five drivers eliminated were: Sainz, Ricciardo, Albon, Magnussen and Gasly.

The ten drivers who progressed to Q1 were: Verstappen, Bottas, Hamilton, Perez, Vettel, Leclerc, Raikkonen, Norris, Kvyat and Giovinazzi.

QUALIFYING 3

Would the drivers get through the final 12 minutes of qualifying without causing yet another red flag in Q3?

Verstappen was out early and clocked a 1:41.447. Hamilton beat that with a 1:40.703, half a second faster than Bottas.

Next across the line was Vettel – and his 1:41.124 was 0.421 of a second slower than Hamilton!

Verstappen, now P4, did a cool down lap and then went for another flyer. He jumped up to second with a 1:41.069.

The other drivers had pitted after doing just one flying lap. The order was now Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Bottas, Perez and Kvyat.

Just over two minutes remained as Vettel and most of the others went out for their final runs. Verstappen remained in the pits to see if his front row spot would be preserved.

Vettel was out front. His lap was a 1:40.797 was only good enough for third. Bottas took the pole with a 1:40.495. Hamilton, 0.059 of a second slower, filled out the front row.

Verstappen dropped to fourth ahead of Perez, Kvyat, Norris, Giovinazzi, Raikkonen and Leclerc.