Formula 1: Valtteri Bottas edges George Russell, Max Verstappen

Valtteri Bottas took the pole position for the penultimate race of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit, by a razor-thin margin over teammate George Russell and Max Verstappen.

The qualifying session for the penultimate race of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Sakhir Grand Prix, at the outer layout of Bahrain International Circuit delivered quite a show, and it ended with the top three separated by a razor-thin margin.

Mercedes delivered a front row lockout, as usual, but they did it with Valtteri Bottas on pole and George Russell in second place. Russell is replacing Lewis Hamilton for the weekend after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified in third place.

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Bottas took the pole position for this 87-lap race around the 11-turn, 2.202-mile (3.544-kilometer) road course in Sakhir, Bahrain by recording a top lap time of 53.377 seconds (148.513 miles per hour) in the third and final round of qualifying for this race.

Russell finished just 0.026 seconds (0.072 miles per hour) behind Bottas with a top lap time of 53.403 seconds (148.441 miles per hour), with Verstappen only 0.030 seconds (0.083 miles per hour) further behind with a top lap time of 53.433 seconds (148.358 miles per hour). This marks the first time in 37 career starts that Russell has been outqualified by a teammate.

Verstappen is set to start on the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth place.

Set to share the third row are Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in fifth place and AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat in sixth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. are set to share the fourth row in seventh and eighth, respectively.

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll were the slowest two of the 10 drivers who advanced to the third and round of qualifying for this race and are set to share the fifth row in ninth and 10th place, respectively.

Eliminated after the second round of qualifying were Renault’s Esteban Ocon, Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and McLaren’s Lando Norris. They qualified in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th place, respectively.

Eliminated after the first round of qualifying were Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Williams rookies Nicholas Latifi and Jack Aitken, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Haas rookie Pietro Fittipaldi. They qualified in 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th place, respectively.

This marks the first time in 16 career starts that Latifi has outqualified a teammate. Aitken is replacing Russell at Williams and Fittipaldi is replacing Romain Grosjean as he recovers from burns he suffered to his hands during his crash in last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix at the track’s regular layout.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.

Starting Lineup
1st – Valtteri Bottas
2nd – George Russell
3rd – Max Verstappen
4th – Charles Leclerc
5th – Sergio Perez
6th – Daniil Kvyat
7th – Daniel Ricciardo
8th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
9th – Pierre Gasly
10th – Lance Stroll
11th – Esteban Ocon
12th – Alexander Albon
13th – Sebastian Vettel
14th – Antonio Giovinazzi
15th – Lando Norris
16th – Kevin Magnussen
17th – Nicholas Latifi
18th – Jack Aitken
19th – Kimi Raikkonen
20th – Pietro Fittipaldi

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Tune in to ESPN tomorrow afternoon at 12:10 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix from Bahrain International Circuit.

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