Formula 1: Austria qualifying results – Valtteri Bottas takes pole
By Asher Fair
Valtteri Bottas took the pole position for the 2020 Formula 1 season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Despite going through the grass and spinning out in the final moments of the third and final round of qualifying for the 2020 Formula 1 season-opening Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took the year’s first pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Bottas had already been on the provisional pole when he lost control of his car, but Hamilton was unable to capitalize on that and bump him off of the top spot on his final lap.
Bottas took the pole position for this 71-lap race around the 10-turn, 2.683-mile (4.318-kilometer) road course in Spielberg, Styria, Austria by recording a top lap time of 62.939 seconds (153.463 miles per hour) in the final round of qualifying.
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Hamilton’s top lap time was just 0.012 seconds (0.029 miles per hour) shy at 62.951 seconds (153.434 miles per hour).
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the two-time reigning winner of the Austrian Grand Prix, qualified in third place and is set to start alongside McLaren’s Lando Norris, who qualified in an impressive fourth.
Red Bull’s Alexander Albon qualified in fifth place and is set to start alongside Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who qualified in an impressive sixth in what is expected to be a solid year for the pink cars.
Ferrari had a disastrous qualifying session, as their top driver, Charles Leclerc, only managed to qualify in seventh place after taking the pole position for last year’s Austrian Grand Prix. He is set to start alongside McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in eighth.
Racing Point’s Lance Stroll qualified in ninth place and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo qualified in 10th as the two slowest drivers who advanced to the final round of qualifying.
Eliminated after the second round of qualifying were Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, AlphaTauri teammates Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat, Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Haas’ Romain Grosjean. These five drivers are set to start in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th place, respectively.
Eliminated after the first round of qualifying were Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ George Russell, Alfa Romeo teammates Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen and Williams rookie Nicholas Latifi. These five drivers are set to start in 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th place, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Qualifying Results
1st – Valtteri Bottas
2nd – Lewis Hamilton
3rd – Max Verstappen
4th – Lando Norris
5th – Alexander Albon
6th – Sergio Perez
7th – Charles Leclerc
8th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
9th – Lance Stroll
10th – Daniel Ricciardo
11th – Sebastian Vettel
12th – Pierre Gasly
13th – Daniil Kvyat
14th – Esteban Ocon
15th – Romain Grosjean
16th – Kevin Magnussen
17th – George Russell
18th – Antonio Giovinazzi
19th – Kimi Raikkonen
20th – Nicholas Latifi
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Tune in to ESPN tomorrow at 9:10 a.m. ET for the live broadcast of the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix from the Red Bull Ring.