French GP qualifying - Max Verstappen to start French Grand Prix on pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton
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ByEurosport
Published 19/06/2021 at 14:34 GMT
Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start the French Grand Prix on pole after edging out Lewis Hamilton in qualifying on Saturday. It's Red Bull's first pole since the opening race of 2021. The pair are locked in a fierce title battle and their rivalry will continue at the front of the grid in Paris on Sunday afternoon. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas came third.
Max Verstappen
Image credit: Getty Images
Red Bull's Max Verstappen will start the French Grand Prix on pole, registering a time of 1:29.990.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished second 0.258s down on his title rival.
Valtteri Bottas found almost a second on his final lap to take third just behind Hamilton and narrowly ahead of the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) came fifth.
"So far it's been a really positive weekend, on a track where it's normally been a bit difficult for us," Verstappen said.
"To get pole position feels really nice. It's a great day. We have to finish it off tomorrow and try and get the 25 points we lost in Baku."
Hamilton was not happy with his car.
"It's been a really, really hard weekend. Mentally, and just trying to get the car into a happy place," he said.
"You wouldn't believe how many changes I've made since Practice One, going round and round chasing our tails and ending up coming back to something similar to where we started.
"I've generally been unhappy in the car all weekend."
Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, McLaren's Lando Norris, Alpine's Fernando Alonso and the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.
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