We had to wait for the last race of the World Championship for someone to snatch a pole from Mercedes on the dry asphalt.
Max Verstappen
beat
Valtteri Bottas
and
Lewis Hamilton
at Yas Marina, where McLaren took a decisive step in pursuit of third place in the Constructors' Championship.
Lando Norris'
fourth place
and
Carlos Sainz's
sixth
join the Renault debacle, which did not put any of its cars in Q3 and the well-known sanction of
Sergio Pérez
, condemned to the back of the grid for an engine change .
In the morning, no one had taken much account of Verstappen's warning, the fastest in the last free session.
The good feeling had evaporated during Q1, when the Dutchman suffered excessively on the intermediate tires.
So no one expected such a surprise at the moment of truth, with a 1: 35.246 to beat Bottas by just 25 thousandths and 86 to Hamilton.
For the first time since the beginning of the hybrid era, Mercedes did not claim pole position over the 21 corners of Yas Marina.
After 16 races, with the exception of
Lance Stroll
in the Istanbul rain, the Red Bull leader surprised the favorites and sowed some hope for the future.
Perhaps the 2021 World Cup maintains a similar quota of equality among the favorites.
For now, the only sure thing is that this Sunday is shaping up as a favorite for the win.
And that Hamilton won't be able to afford another mistake like the one that nearly ruined him on Saturday.
Following a run off the track in Q1, damage to the flat bottom of his W11 seriously compromised its future.
Renault debacle
The first pole position since the 2010 Brazilian GP fuels the morale of
Christian Horner
, satisfied with the improvement of
Alexander Albon
, sandwiched between the McLaren.
Verstappen didn't need to be the fastest in any sector to bring his Red Bull's tremendous potential to the table.
On Sunday, the first three will start with yellow wheels, identical shoes that Sainz or
Charles Leclerc
will wear
, always above
Sebastian Vettel
.
For another week, the four-time world champion could not even play the last round, while the Monegasque and Sainz made the most of their intermediate tires.
Also, both were met with the early elimination of
Daniel Ricciardo
and
Esteban Ocon
.
From the Renault garage,
Fernando Alonso
attended dumbfounded.
The fight for third place in the World Cup will be resolved by those 10 points of advantage of Racing Point over McLaren.
The runner-up candy seems awarded to Bottas, with a 16-point margin over Verstappen, while Sainz only needs to add two more than Leclerc to repeat his sixth final position in the championship.
Definitely a farewell with honors from McLaren.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Max verstappen
Valtteri Bottas
Sergio Perez
Lewis Hamilton
Formula 1
2020 Formula 1 Carlos Sainz, brilliant in the wet: 10-place comeback that leaves McLaren third in the World Championship
F1Hamilton, in seventh heaven after a wet exhibition in Istanbul
F1 Pérez fulfills his big dream in Sakhir after a glaring error by Mercedes
See links of interest
Last minute
Spanish translator
Programming
Work calendar
Movies Today
Topics
Coronavirus Spain
Khimki Moscow - CSKA Moscow
Lugo - Ponferradina
Panathinaikos - Zalgiris Kaunas
FC Bayern Munich - Asvel Villeurbanne
VfL Wolfsburg - Eintracht Frankfurt