Lewis Hamilton on Portuguese pole in search of becoming the most victorious F1 driver.
Lewis Hamilton continued to dominate in his quest to be crowned the most victorious driver in Formula One as he will start from pole position after beating Valtteri Bottas in qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix 2020.
Hamilton tied Michael Schumacher for 91 wins at the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany earlier this month.
And the world champion will now start as the favorite to make history here in the Algarve on Sunday after overcoming the challenge of his teammate Mercedes Bottas by just 0.102 seconds with his last lap of a nail-biting session.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen will line up from third place, one place ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
F1's first lap race to Portugal in 24 years was delayed 30 minutes after repair work was carried out on a dislodged drain cap at the exit of the penultimate turn.
Track officials laid fresh asphalt to keep the loose metal in place and checked the 2.89 miles of track for additional drains that didn't fit.
But when the action finally began, it looked like it would be Bottas who would continue his good practice form to secure his second pole in as many races.
The Finnish driver headed into qualifying with clean practice under his belt, but Hamilton executed a different strategy in Q3 by completing one more lap than his teammate and clinching pole position.
"I can't tell you how difficult it was today," Hamilton said after securing his 97th career pole. “We have a great car, but you have to remove the nuts to give it a spin.
“I've just been digging and digging to find that extra time. I did three laps to try to beat Valtteri's time in the last session.
“He decided to do one and he gave me a chance and it worked. That last lap got better and better. "
George Russell's future has been the source of much speculation here after it emerged that he could be replaced by Sergio Perez at Williams next year.
Williams has recently been acquired by Dorilton and the belief is that they want drivers to bring money to the British team, putting Russell's seat in jeopardy in 2021.
Here, the 22-year-old from Mercedes had another excellent one-lap performance to extend his undefeated qualifying streak over his teammates, Robert Kubica in 2019 and Nicholas Latifi this year, to 33.
Russell sealed his way to Q2, riding a second faster than his teammate, before finishing 14th, one place ahead of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari.
The sooner Vettel leaves Ferrari, the better for both parties. The German, who will head to Aston Martin next season, starts Sunday's race 13th in the championship, 213 points behind Hamilton.
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