Mercedes' Bottas takes pole at Portuguese Grand Prix
Lars Baron / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took pole position ahead of Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao by securing top spot during a windy qualifying session Saturday.
Bottas earned his 17th career pole and first since the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, finishing ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:18:348 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.007 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.398 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.542 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.691 |
| 6 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.694 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.768 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.958 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +1.127 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | +1.311 |
| 11 | George Russell | Williams | Q2 |
| 12 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Q2 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | Q2 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Q2 |
| 15 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Q2 |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | Q1 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q1 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Q1 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Q1 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | Q1 |
"It's a good feeling to be on pole," Bottas said after qualifying. "It feels like it's been a while. ... Qualifying has been a weak point for me but we've been working hard this weekend."
The Finnish driver struggled in the previous race, qualifying eighth in Imola before a crash with Williams' George Russell abruptly ended his Sunday.
Bottas prevented Hamilton from earning his 100th career pole position with Saturday's result.