Hamilton takes pole position for French GP; Vettel 7th
Lewis Hamilton timed his best lap to perfection to take pole position ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas with a blistering late effort at the French Grand Prix.
Published : Jun 22, 2019 20:10 IST
Lewis Hamilton eased to pole position at the French Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with Sebastian Vettel struggling to qualify just seventh.
Mercedes locked out the front row in comfortable fashion, with Hamilton's time of 1:28.319 never looking like it would be challenged.
The championship leader was ahead after the first runs of Q3, then improved with his second attempt, although his initial time would still have proven enough as Bottas could not go quicker than his opening effort.
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Bottas ended the session 0.286 seconds adrift for Mercedes, who have looked dominant all week in topping every practice and qualifying session.
The Mercedes cars were the first to reach the chequered flag, but there would have been few nerves on the pit-wall about whether they would be caught as the other cars completed Q3.
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari after finishing 0.646s behind, with Max Verstappen over a second adrift in fourth to complete the second row.
"It's not an easy track, Valtteri's been quick all weekend and I just kept chipping away," said pole-sitter Hamilton. "I'm happy I got the potential out of the car."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:28.319 2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.286s 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.646s 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.090s 5. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.099s 6. Carlos Sainz (McLaren) +1.203s 7. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +1.480s 8. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) +1.599s 9. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) +1.865s 10. Antonio Giovinazzi +5.101s
French Grand Prix qualifying times on Saturday: |
(With inputs from AFP)