Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas took pole position ahead of temporary teammate George Russell for the Sakhir Grand Prix on Saturday.
It was the 16th pole of Bottas’ career and he placed just .026 seconds ahead of Russell, driving in a Mercedes for the first time in the absence of world champion Lewis Hamilton, and .056 clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“I’m happy to be on pole but it wasn’t my best performance in qualifying,” said Bottas, who has five poles this season and goes for his third win of the campaign.
But he was pushed hard by the highly rated Russell, who made the transition from Williams seamlessly.
Charles Leclerc, who led F1 with seven poles last season, drove superbly in a Ferrari which has not been competitive this year and qualified in fourth place ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.
Former champion Kimi Raikkonen was among the five drivers eliminated from Q1, the first part of qualifying. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari; McLaren’s Lando Norris, and Red Bull’s Alexander Albon all went out of Q2, while Verstappen topped it to set himself up well for Q3.
Earlier, Verstappen boosted Red Bull by posting the fastest time in the third and final practice but lacked enough pace to unsettle Mercedes on his final lap in qualifying.
“I hope we have a bit of fun tomorrow,” Verstappen said after missing out on his first pole this season. “All the lap times are so close.”
In P3, Verstappen moved up the leaderboard late in the session to finish .21 seconds ahead of Bottas and .36 clear of Russell
Verstappen has won one race this season in a slower car than Mercedes.
Russell topped both of Friday’s practice sessions in an impressive performance after stepping in as a replacement for world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is self-isolating for 10 days after contracting the coronavirus earlier this week.
The view from The National
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
