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Bottas feels Mercedes 'in our own league' after dramatic Austria pole

Valtteri Bottas beat Lewis Hamilton to pole position as Formula One returned with the first qualifying session of 2020 in Austria.

By Chris Myson
Bottas - Cropped

Spielberg, July 4: Valtteri Bottas feels like Mercedes are in a league of their own after he combined with Lewis Hamilton to lock out the front row ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

<strong>Bottas claims pole with Vettel 11th as Ferrari struggle in Austria</strong><br style=" title="Bottas claims pole with Vettel 11th as Ferrari struggle in Austria
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Bottas claims pole with Vettel 11th as Ferrari struggle in Austria

A thrilling battle between the two Mercedes drivers, who are seeking a seventh straight constructors' championship for the team in 2020, saw Bottas emerge 0.012 seconds in front of the six-time world champion.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was the closest to them in Q3, finishing 0.538s off the pace, while Charles Leclerc was almost one second adrift in seventh spot for Ferrari.

"It feels really good - I've missed these feelings, these shakes, after qualifying," said Bottas. "It is something special when you push the car to the limit.

"I've obviously been preparing for this for a long time and it feels so good. I can’t say more than that. Our team have done an amazing job, we seem to be in our own league."

Asked about the big gap to Mercedes' rivals, Bottas added: "It is very impressive to see.

"I know it is only the first qualifying of the season but I'm so impressed - so thanks to everyone in the team and the factory. It's truly an amazing car to drive. Good result, but [Sunday] is what matters."

Hamilton also paid tribute to the Mercedes outfit after Saturday's impressive showing.

The Briton was trailing Bottas after the first runs in Q3 and went on to improve his time, only to fall agonisingly short of the mark set by his team-mate, who spun into the gravel during his second flying lap.

"Great job by Valtteri," said Hamilton. "This is a great start to the season and we are happy to be here.

"We show year on year that we continue to be the best team. I think that is because we are open-minded and we are current with the times.

"The guys that I work with are never too stubborn to admit we might be wrong at some stages, we are constantly always learning from each other, constantly pushing the boundaries.

"There's not really any politics within the team. It's a united team, we push together and that's why every year we come back. It's not necessarily always the same like that in teams."

On the Bottas incident, Hamilton said: "I came round turn four and there was a big puff of dust, but I managed to see that Valtteri was just about to come back on the track.

"Fortunately, it didn't really affect the lap - he kept his position and so did I."

Verstappen acknowledged the big gap to Mercedes but hopes his Red Bull will fare better on Sunday, while he will start on medium tyres in an alternate strategy to Bottas and Hamilton.

"I'm happy to be P3," said the Dutchman, who has won the last two races in Austria.

"We have different starting tyres so it's going to be interesting, it is going to be quite a bit warmer [on Sunday] so I hope that is going to play into our advantage.

"But clearly [in qualifying] Mercedes were on a different level unfortunately. Let's see how we can do - last year we were also a little bit off in qualifying, so I expect we are a bit better in the race."

Story first published: Saturday, July 4, 2020, 22:03 [IST]
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