Bottas drives to pole in Baku, Hamilton starts in the front row next to him

Valtteri Bottas has taken the pole for the GP of Azerbaijan. The Finn was the fastest in the qualifications on the street circuit in Baku. Bottas realized in his Mercedes 1: 40.495. He was just a bit faster than Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

For 29-year-old Bottas, it is the eighth pole of his career, the second this season. The German Sebastian Vettel, who finished third in his Ferrari in 1: 40.797, and the Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen (fourth in 1: 41.069) start in the second row. The third row is occupied by the Mexican Sergio Pérez Van Racing Point-Mercedes and the Russian Daniil Kvyat from Toro Rosso-Honda.

The Monegask Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), the fastest in the free practice stages, crashed in the second qualifying section. He landed in the wall at turn 8, where his Ferrari was badly damaged. At the same place, the Pole Robert Kubica (Williams) went wrong in Q1. Leclerc seemed on the way to pole, but now starts in tenth position. The Grand Prix starts tomorrow at 2.10 pm. The victory went to Hamilton last year.