Bottas outduels Russell as Mercedes lock out front-row

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com


Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) will be hosting tonight Bahrain’s heroes in the stands and motorsport’s superstars on the track for the Formula 1 Rolex 
Sakhir Grand Prix 2020, which will see Valtteri Bottas start from pole.

While the biggest icons in
 all of motor racing battle it out over 87 laps around BIC’s 3.543-kilometre Outer Track, “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” will be welcoming a second group of the Kingdom’s frontline health workers, first responders and their immediate family to enjoy the action.

This is in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The initiative is in appreciation of the health workers’ tireless efforts and sacrifices in Bahrain’s national response to COVID-19, and it is being held under the theme “#ThankYou_ OurHeroes”.

They will be able to enjoy the race from an exclusive vantage point from BIC’s Main Grandstand, and watch as Bottas heads the field on the start grid.

Bottas captured pole with a blistering lap of 53.377 seconds in last night’s Q3 in qualifying, beating out teammate George Russell—driving in place of Lewis Hamilton this weekend— by just 0.026 seconds to lock out the front row for Mercedes for the second successive weekend. Tonight’s F1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix is scheduled for an 8.10pm start.