With a classy lap shortly before the end, valtteri bottas snatched pole position away from his mercedes teammate lewis hamilton at the formula 1 comeback at the nurburgring.
The finn beat the englishman in the next lightning comeback by nico hulkenberg in qualifying for the eifel grand prix with his 14th lap. Career pole in position two. Seven years after the last race on the traditional circuit, world championship leader hamilton wants to race on sunday (14.10 o’clock/RTL and sky) nevertheless with its 91. Grand prix victory to match record holder michael schumacher.
After his latest turbo comeback at racing point, hulkenberg had to replace canadian lance stroll with the 20. And last place. Sebastian vettel in his ferrari also did not make it into the last K.O.-round and finished eleventh.
"After yesterday’s disgrace, it was good that we got to drive," vettel said. The two training sessions on friday were cancelled after rain and fog for safety reasons. "I think with the soft tire it actually went quite well. I lost the time in the first sector," vettel later said, explaining his premature exit. "It actually felt quite okay and not like there were worlds more to go."
Hulkenberg took the risk as a deputy – and couldn’t get any more out of it. "The first two rounds were really geeiere," he said after his crazy day. "One way or another, it was a wild ride. A lot has happened between eleven o’clock and now." hulkenberg sab still drinking coffee at lunchtime according to his own statements. "It was even wilder than the last time."Hulkenberg now leaves the first race with only 18 minutes of running-in time.O.-round into the eifel race.
Next to him on the last row of the grid is alfa-romeo man kimi raikkonen, who will replace rubens barrichello on sunday with 323 grand prix starts and become the sole record holder.
Hamilton missed his 97. Career pole only after a flawless circulation of bottas. "It’s such a nice feeling when you make it with the last lap," the world championship runner-up reported. "It was tricky, though, because we only had a little time to poke around."For hamilton, "a few factors" will make the difference on sunday: the behavior of the tires or the right pit strategy. Behind the mercedes duo, max verstappen in the red bull finished in third place.
Just 50 minutes before the start, racing point had announced hulkenberg’s latest comeback. Stroll already had to skip the final training session due to indisposition. "It was easy to set up the car for him, he knows the car, he knows the team," explained team boss otmar szafnauer.
Hulkenberg had already made two substitute appearances for his former team in silverstone this summer after stroll’s teammate sergio perez tested positive for the coronavirus. Since leaving renault at the end of last year, the driver from emmerich has been without a cockpit and has also worked as a TV pundit for RTL. Hulkenberg is now fortunately in poland, racing point announced. The nurburgring is just over an hour’s drive from koln.
Vettel missed the final round again this season.O.-round. For the eighth time, the four-time world champion did not make it into the top ten drivers in his final year at ferrari. "It’s a question of whether my car will play along or not, i’ll try everything," vettel announced. However, a repeat of his 2013 victory is not in the cards.