Valtteri Bottas Denies Lewis Hamilton Pole At 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas nabbed pole position at the Formula One 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix, denying both his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen.

Most drivers headed out early in Q1 to try getting a good lap in, especially when faced with the day's gusty winds—but, as you can probably expect, Mercedes did end up leading the field, even despite Hamilton losing a fast lap because he nearly lost control of his car. Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing did and up losing control after a cross-wind caught his tail, sending him in the gravel trap. Valtteri Bottas took charge of the session at its end.

16. Daniel Ricciardo 17. Lance Stroll18. Nicolas Latifi19. Mick Schumacher20. Nikita Mazepin

Everyone managed to keep things together in Q2, with the only big surprise being Ferrari wobbling on the brink of elimination just near the end of the session—leaving its two drivers to pull out a fast lap just at the end of the session to knock George Russell into the elimination zone—which is still the team's best start in a while. It also proved to be a turning point for Sebastian Vettel, who managed to get his Aston Martin into Q3.

11. George Russell12. Antonio Giovinazzi13. Fernando Alonso14. Yuki Tsunoda15. Kimi Raikkonen

The final qualifying session set out to determine which team would be fastest: Mercedes or Red Bull Racing. But it proved difficult for Max Verstappen, who had a solid lap deleted after just barely losing control in turn 4 for exceeding track limits.

Ultimately, it was Bottas who proved successful, denying pole position from his teammate and from other championship contender Verstappen.

1. Valtteri Bottas2. Lewis Hamilton3. Max Verstappen4. Sergio Perez5. Carlos Sainz Jr. 6. Esteban Ocon7. Lando Norris8. Charles Leclerc9. Pierre Gasly10. Sebastian Vettel