Qualifying Report - Lockout

By Dan Knutson

The Mercedes team had its 63rd front-row lockout in Formula 1 as Lewis Hamilton won his 86th pole position while his teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified second. “I was chipping away and my last two laps were the ones,” Hamilton said. “You have to be quite dynamic in how you attack the lap.”

Bottas commented: “It has been super close between us all weekend.”

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Hamilton and Bottas; Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel and Charles 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 – George Russell and Robert Kubica.

Bottas was quickest in FP3 with a time of 1:30.159.

Kvyat would start from the back of the grid because of a penalty for a new power unit in his car.

Russell had a 15-place grid penalty for new components fitted to his Williams.

QUALIFYING 1

Q1 lasted 18 minutes.

The ambient temperature at the start of qualifying was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 129 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Centigrade).

Leclerc took an early led with a lap of 1:31.441, but Bottas beat that with his 1:31.378. Hamilton slotted into third ahead of Vettel, Sainz and Gasly.

With eight minutes to go, Perez was 15th and on the bubble with Grosjean 14th and Magnussen 16th.

Leclerc took the lead briefly before Bottas answered with a 1:30.550 and Hamilton reclaimed second.

Verstappen jumped from 13th to fifth with five minutes left in Q1.

And now Stroll was on the cutoff line in 15th until he was pushed to 16th by Albon who in turn was replaced by Hulkenberg.

The track really ramped up in the final three minutes, and the lap times got quicker. The order changed dramatically.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Kvyat, Grosjean, Stroll, Russell and Kubica.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Bottas, Hamilton, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Perez, Raikkonen, Norris, Sainz, Vettel, Gasly, Magnussen, Giovinazzi, Verstappen and Albon.

QUALIFYING 2

Q2 lasted 15 minutes.

The Mercedes drivers were on the medium Pirelli slicks fitted. The top 10 qualifiers start the race on the tire compound they used to set their fastest lap in Q2. The advantage being that the medium tire gives a longer range for pit stop strategy in the race compared to the soft compound tires.

Also on the mediums were Sainz, Vettel, Verstappen, Leclerc, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.

Hamilton clocked a 1:29.520, half a second faster than Bottas. Leclerc took third ahead of Verstappen and Vettel.

Bottas did a second run and took the lead with his 1:29.437. Verstappen’s second run put him third.

Perez was 10th and on the cutoff line with five minutes to go. Albon was ninth and Giovinazzi was 11th. Ricciardo and Norris had yet to clock a time.

And now Norris was out on the medium Pirellis. He jumped up to seventh only to be pushed down a place by Ricciardo. Now Gasly was on the bubble with two minutes remaining.

As in Q1, the track ramped up and the order changed and changed again.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Albon, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Perez and Magnussen.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton, Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Ricciardo, Giovinazzi and Gasly. All but Gasly and Giovinazzi had used the medium Pirellis.

QUALIFYING 3

Q3 lasted 12 minutes. There would be no medium tires in this session.

Everybody but Giovinazzi headed out right away.

Bottas set a time of 1:28.605, Hamilton beat that with a 1:28.448. Leclerc claimed third. Vettel was forced to pit because of a missed upshift problem on his Ferrari.

So Verstappen was fourth ahead of Sainz, Norris, Ricciardo and Gasly after the first set of flying laps.

Vettel and Giovinazzi would have just one shot at a fast lap in the final few minutes.

Bottas was slower on his lap but kept second place while Hamilton’s 1:28.319 earned the pole.

Leclerc grabbed third with Verstappen fourth. Norris and Sainz filled row three of the grid. Vettel was a poor seventh, and Ricciardo was eighth. Gasly and Giovinazzi rounded out the top 10.