Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were the big winners while Bottas’ Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly were the big losers of the sprint qualifying race for tomorrow’s 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Bottas started on pole position and won easily but Hamilton got a poor start and dropped immediately to sixth, only gaining a place when Gasly crashed out, and allowing Verstappen to claim second place.
The result gives Verstappen two more points to pad his lead to five points over the seven-time defending Formula One champion Hamilton but – more importantly – also gives Verstappen pole position for tomorrow’s grand prix as Bottas will be absorbing an engine change penalty and will be starting the race from the back of the grid.
Top 10 Qualifiers For 2021 Italian Grand Prix
1] Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
2] Max Verstappen Red Bull
3] Daniel Ricciardo McLaren
4] Lando Norris McLaren
5] Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
6] Charles Leclerc Ferrari
7] Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari
8] Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo
9] Sergio Perez Red Bull
10] Lance Stroll Aston Martin