Finnish Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas dominated Saturday’s qualifying for Saturday’s sprint.
Lars Baron, Reuters
–
Bottas, who will leave Mercedes for Alfa Romeo after the season, will start from first place in Saturday’s 100 km sprint. The results of the short race on 18 laps will determine the order on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but the Finnish driver will start from the rear positions regardless of Saturday’s performance, as he changed the engine of his car for strategic reasons.
The winner of the last two Grand Prix Max Verstappen from Red Bull, who lost 411 thousandths on Bottas, did not keep pace with the Mercedes today. The Dutch pilot leads the World Championship standings ahead of the reigning champion Hamilton by three points: exactly that will be the winner of Saturday’s sprint, the other two pilots will receive two and one point.
After the first stage of Rovanperä, the Akropolis Rally leads just before two champions
–
For the second time this year, the alternative format of the weekend is being held, for the first time F1 drivers have tried out a novelty in the July British Grand Prix in Silverstone.
| Italian Grand Prix, Formula 1 World Championship in Monza: |
| First training: |
| 1. Hamilton (Brit./Mercedes) 1:20,926 |
| 2. Verstappen (Niz./Red Bull) -0,452 |
| 3. Bottas (Fin./Mercedes) -0.525 |
| 4. Stroll (Kan./Aston Martin) -0,750 |
| 5. Gasly (Fr./AlphaTauri) -0,793 |
| 6. Vettel (Germany / Aston Martin) -0.898 |
| Sprint qualifications: |
| 1. Bottas 1:19.555 |
| 2. Hamilton -0,096 |
| 3. Verstappen -0,411 |
| 4. Norris (Brit./McLaren) -0,434 |
| 5. Ricciardo (Austr./McLaren) – 0,440 |
| 6. Gasly -0,705 |
– .
