F1 2017: Valtteri Bottas on pole for Bahrain GP
Valtteri Bottas on his way to pole position at the 2017 Bahrain GP
Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position for the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix. In the closing stages of Q3, the Finnish driver managed to pip Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole, beating him to the head of the grid by a mere 0.023 sec. Hamilton made a mistake on his very last lap during Q3 and was hence not able to improve his time or move up the order, thus having to settle for second on the grid.
Third on the grid was the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, the German driver finishing a half a second adrift of pole-man Bottas. He was followed home to fourth on the grid by Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Raikkonen took the second of the Ferraris to fifth on the grid, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen took sixth.
Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton after Qualifying at the 2017 Bahrain GP
Heading up the fourth row of the grid was Nico Hulkenberg for Renault, who impressed with his performance. Williams' Felipe Massa took eighth spot on the grid, while Haas F1's Romain Grosjean took ninth. Tenth on the grid, and rounding off a very good qualifying session for Renault, was Jolyon Palmer.
Qualifying - Bahrain GP
1. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m 28.769s
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m 28.792s
3. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m 29.247s
4. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m 29.545s
5. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m 29.567s
6. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1m 29.687s
7. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m 29.842s
8. Felipe Massa Williams 1m 30.074s
9. Romain Grosjean Haas 1m 30.763s
10. Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m 31.074s
11. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m 30.923s
12. Lance Stroll Williams 1m 31.168s
13. Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1m 31.414s
14. Esteban Ocon Force India 1m 31.874s
15. Fernando Alonso McLaren No Time
16. Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1m 32.118s
17. Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1m 32.313s
18. Sergio Perez Force India 1m 32.318s
19. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1m 32.543s
20. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1m 32.900s
