Bottas upstages Hamilton to take pole

IMOLA: Valtteri Bottas powered to pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday with the Finn’s team-mate and Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton locking out the front row for dominant Mercedes.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified third, after a power unit scare in the second phase sent mechanics scrambling to fix his car, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly a stunning fourth on the grid. Mercedes need only a fourth place finish in Sunday’s race to secure a record seventh successive constructors’ world championship.

The pole, with a time of one minute 13.609 seconds, was a 13th in 13 races this season for the champions.

Sunday’s race will be the first grand prix at Imola since 2006, with the track returning to flesh out a calendar ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the third in Italy this season.

Bottas was 0.097 quicker than Hamilton.

Hamilton leads Bottas by 77 points, having won eight times so far this season, and is closing on a record-equalling seventh drivers’ title although he will have to wait at least until Turkey in two weeks’ time for a chance to clinch it.