VALTTERI BOTTAS took his third pole in a row to start in P1 for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.
I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, for the last time a non-Mercedes car was on pole position in Barcelona, London was preparing to host the Olympic Games.
In fact, it was Williams’ Pastor Maldonado in 2012, who went on to win the race, but this year, Bottas’s result feels like Groundhog Day.
Again, it was a Mercedes pole. Again, Lewis Hamilton’s P2 means it is nother one-two start for the Silver Arrows.
And again, Ferrari failed to deliver as Sebastian Vettel was well off the pace of the Finn, who is currently leading the drivers’ championship.
Bottas, who now has a hat-trick of poles, said: “I really enjoyed that – the adrenaline rush. It’s started well the season and I feel better and better in the car.”
Bottas was on fire and set a new track record of 1:15.924 that was a blockbuster.
And he put in another fine lap in Q3 while Hamilton struggled. He had a scrappy first run, and backed off during the second go.
He added: “Valtteri did a fantastic job. On my side, I didn’t put the laps together.
“Ultimately, I didn’t do the job – but it’s great for the team to have a 1-2, and if I can reverse it tomorrow I’ll be happy.”
Vettel, who starts third on the grid, admitted his car was no match to the Merc with the speed.
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He said: “It seems to be more than Achilles’ heel, I was never happy with the car. I got everything out of it.
“The car did not feel perfect and we seem to be a bit down on speed carried around the corner.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took fourth spot on the gird ahead of Charles Leclerc.
