LCH TAKES HIS 95TH

LCH  claims his first Formula 1 pole position at Mugello as Mercedes kept Max Verstappen at bay in Tuscan GP qualifying.

Valtteri Bottas had topped all three practice sessions and repeated that result in Q1, but Hamilton yet again came to the fore when it mattered most for his 95th career pole.

Bottas finished just 0.059s behind and lost a final chance on the final Q3 attempts to turn the tables when he had to slow down through the first sector for yellow flags after Renualt’s Esteban Ocon spun. Ahead of Ocon on the road, Hamilton wasn’t impacted by the caution flag and failed to improve on his final attempt!

“I still had more time in there,” rued Bottas. “Run one was OK, but not perfect. I was looking forward to the last lap but I didn’t get the opportunity.”

But Sky F1’s Paul Di Resta said: “If you want to beat Lewis Hamilton to a championship, you have to beat him on every lap when he’s on track. Valtteri didn’t get the job done.”

After a tough Monza, Red Bull have comfortably been Mercedes’ closest challenger here and for the first time this season have locked out the second row.

Verstappen returned to his habitual third place, having run Mercedes promisingly close in Q2, and his 0.365s deficit to pole is Red Bull’s closest of the season so far.

Red Bull’s race prospects could also be aided by Alex Albon taking an important fourth in the sister car. Discounting grid penalties, it is the London-born Thai driver’s best qualifying result in 30 F1 appearances after some tough Saturdays this season.