Can Esteban Ocon knock Daniel Ricciardo,
though, out of qualifying? Ricciardo very much at risk.
Ocon the man who was his team-mate at Renault last year, Alpine now...
Riccardo's moved to McLaren hoping for better things
than getting knocked out in Q1. Ocon crosses the line.
Does kick Daniel Ricciardo out of qualifying, as the Frenchman
puts his car fourth fastest. - George Russell through
at the moment. Wait for Williams. - So George Russell makes it three out of three
in terms of reaching Q2 in 2021. Daniel Ricciardo knocked out.
Four hundredths of a second was the margin. Looking at George Russell's sector times:
22.7 and a 30.3. That's going well, as has Carlos Sainz –
sixth fastest. Has put his driving team-mate,
Charles Leclerc, very much at risk, as Leclerc then responds
and goes sixth fastest himself. So is Gasly on the cusp?
And he is through and George Russell misses out by five one-hundredths
of a second for a Q3 appearance. That is a mega lap by George Russell,
and once again he comes agonisingly close. - Well, they don't call him
Mr Saturday for no good reason. That's another tremendous lap time
from George Russell. But at least he's got a choice of tyres,
then, on the start. Anybody from 11 backwards
can choose the tyres. - "Oh! How close!" - That'll be his highest start
for the Williams team. Fernando Alonso knocked out:
four tenths adrift in the Alpine, whilst his team-mate, Esteban Ocon,
was in the top four. It's Raikkonen, Tsunoda, Alonso,
Giovinazzi and Russell. The five will not see any further
participation in qualifying this afternoon. It's a 1:18.209 for Max Verstappen.
I dare say, not going to be enough. - No, but there's plenty of time.
And it's deleted anyway for track limits at Turn 4.
So he's got to go again. And, of course,
the reason he went off wide at Turn 4 is he was trying
to stop it from spinning, wasn't he? So... but there's
more time in Verstappen there. So, he can get into the 17s with that car,
as long as he stays on the track. - A 1:19.1 for Lando Norris.
Puts him two tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc. Valtteri Bottas goes into provisional pole, then.
First man into the 1.18s in this session. Lewis Hamilton seven milliseconds
behind his team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Advantage to the Finnish side
of the Mercedes garage. At the moment,
provisional pole is Valtteri Bottas', as Sainz goes third fastest
and then is replaced by Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen yet to set a time.
His lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits. So he's very much on the back foot,
as are Red Bull, because it's Mercedes locking out
the front row so far. Verstappen, then, on this, his first lap
that will count, as long as he stays
within the track limits at 14 and 15. He's got two more
of those corners to go, but he's not setting times that are going to look
anywhere like a pole position at the moment. And he's struggling a touch
through Turn 14 as well. And there's Sebastian Vettel
keeping out of the way before he starts his final flying lap
in this Q3 session. Verstappen, then, racing towards the line.
Didn't set a time. This time is only good enough for P3. It's where he started the last race
and it's where he's ended up now. - And Vettel there was looking for a nice
slipstream down the pit straight. It's why he was hanging loose there,
ready to start his lap. Of course, Verstappen
could do another lap, but he won't have the battery
all fully charged up. He's absolutely used everything he's got.
So a disappointing qualy then for Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel, by the way,
pointless after the first two races. Last time that happened was 2009,
driving for Red Bull. Third race, he won from pole.
Not saying that's an omen for this afternoon, but if he's on pole,
don't be surprised. Carlos Sainz fifth fastest overall, then, and ahead of his team-mate, Charles Leclerc,
for the time being. Esteban Ocon slots into P6. Lewis Hamilton isn't making much impression
on the timing charts at the moment. Valtteri Bottas looking good
for a pole position. But we shall see. - Lewis really having to fight the car
as well in Turn 14. And then you have to wait before
you can get on the throttle for good measure. Valtteri Bottas crosses the line.
Doesn't improve on his provisional pole time. Hamilton to the line now.
He can't improve either. It's Valtteri Bottas on pole
for Mercedes here in Portimao! Bottas, returning to the racetrack after a crash
with George Russell last time out in Imola, has made amends in qualifying here this afternoon
to put his car on pole position and give himself the best possible shot
of redemption tomorrow. - Standout for Ocon as well
in sixth place for Alpine. Sainz outqualifies Leclerc at Ferrari. Both Red Bulls
on the second row, though. That's a decent starting place
for those two tomorrow, with a long slipstream
down to the first corner. - "Hard work, mate."
- "Haha! I told you it will pay off." - "Yes. Looks good."
- "Thank you." Lando Norris on row four.
Starts just ahead of Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz on the third row.
Starts just ahead of Esteban Ocon. Verstappen ahead of Perez
on row two. And the front row? Well, it's a 71st front-row lockout in 141 races
since the start of 2014 for Mercedes. It's Valtteri Bottas – 17 career poles
to tie with Sir Jackie Stewart in terms of all-time career poles. He's beaten Lewis Hamilton
here this afternoon. I think that is a massive confidence boost
for Valtteri Bottas.
The thumbnail shows Carlos Sainz's number 55 and the video length as 5:55. Perfect!