Portuguese GP Qualifying: Valterri Bottas Holds Off Lewis Hamilton To Win Pole

 

Lewis Hamilton will have to wait until another race for his 100th pole after losing the Portuguese Grand Prix qualifying to his teammate Valterri Bottas at the final lap of Q3. 

Bottas defiled challenges faced for having a poor start as he was outpaced by the title defender, Hamilton, but improved to take a provision pole the Q3 which the Briton could not outpace in the last lap, giving the winning timing in 1:18.348s - a marginal lead of 0.007s ahead of his teammate - for his 17th career pole and his first of the season. 

"It's really tricky conditions here," said Hamilton concerning the race. "The surface of the track is really smooth and not a lot of grip, and with the tires, you need extra laps to get the temperatures even though it's a really nice day."

Mercedes locked out the front row forcing Red Bull's Max Verstappen to the back foot following a delete of his best lap over track limits infringement. Max and his teammate Sergio Perez followed each other in the sequence and were followed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in the fifth position. 

Charles Leclerc could have that much pace as his teammate Sainz and ended the qualifying session in the three places behind the Spaniard to be in the eighth position.