Second pole position of the season for Valtteri Bottas after the one he achieved in Portugal. The Finn was the only one of the Mercedes who remained in his position after Lewis Hamilton’s poor start, with Verstappen taking advantage of the game.
The strategic variety Regarding the choice of tires, it marked the initial set-up of each of the drivers: the two McLaren were the only ones to ride the softest compound in the Pirelli range, while the rest of the members of the Top 10 He did not skimp on tires and opted for the medium. Aston Martin and Alpine emulated the approach of Zak Brown’s, challenging a whole declaration of intent.
Unsurprisingly, the start did not disappoint: Lewis Hamilton plummeted after reporting a slight touch, with Max Verstappen inheriting second position as Pierre Gasly lost his sixth place by losing his front wing and going directly against the protections, which resulted in a Safety Car.
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The bad start of # 44 was totally opposite to that of Daniel Ricciardo, who climbed into third place and received the continuous beats of his teammate as the action resumed on the track. Valtteri Bottas executed a book relaunch that allowed him to get rid of Verstappen and the DRS of # 33, at the same time Fernando Alonso knocking on the door of the top ten.
Frustrated comeback
Lap after lap, without giving up its efforts, Hamilton tried to account for Lando Norris without success, which caused his medium tires to be consumed more than normal and he was in a similar situation to that of the McLaren driver in terms of wear.
For his part, Sergio Pérez had his pluses and minuses with Lance Stroll: the Mexican overtook the Canadian making use of the escape from the first two curves, he had to return the position and, just one lap later, he definitively passed # 18. Alonso tried to get a slice of this battle, although, although he was very close to passing Stroll, a bolt from the Aston Martin driver before tackling the curve ruined any chance of achieving it.
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Without being disturbed, Bottas effectively managed a margin of over 2 seconds against Verstappen. Carlos SainzOn the track after being involved in a serious accident in the last free practice session, he watched as Charles Leclerc took his revenge and returned it, relegating him to a position further back that did not affect him after the abandonment of Gasly.
The disputes between Red Bull and the FIA Due to a pending investigation into the scuffle between Pérez and Stroll, they were heard on the broadcast, a dispute that was resolved with the consequent decision not to take further action in this regard.