Alonso will start from a disappointing 13th position at Portimao and Bottas leaves Hamilton without 100th pole

Few counted on him, but Valtteri Bottas He has done his best to achieve a pole that delays at least one more weekend for Lewis Hamilton’s 100. Only 7 thousandths separated the Mercedes, who beat the Red Bull with a double, Max verstappen 3rd and Sergio Pérez 4th, with a Carlos Sainz brilliant: 5th and only of those who have changed teams ahead of their teammate

Alonso blames the car for its poor classification … but that of his teammate Ocon is performing well

The one who did not have a good day was Fernando Alonso. Again surpassed with solvency by the other of Alpine, the one of Esteban Ocon, stayed in Q2 and will start from a poor 13th place. It was not what was expected, much less and less when the French will start 6th.

Q1: Sainz, comfortable; Alonso, with more suffering

The progressive improvement of the track as the day progressed led to a scare already being seen from Q1. The fastest was Valtteri Bottas, followed by a Lando norris who took out the shame of his partner Daniel Ricciardo, removed. After them, the great favorite, Lewis hamilton, who had to grit his teeth after having his best lap time cut for going beyond the limits of Turn 1.

For Carlos Sainz it was a good run, as he made the 5th cut with solvency and saved a set of soft tires. Something else suffered Fernando Alonso, and although his teammate set a great 4th time and he could only be 13th, he got into Q2 without problems.

The big surprise among those eliminated was Ricciardo, disastrous, along with Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi and the foreseeable Mick schumacher Y Nikita mazepin.

Q2: Fernando Alonso, out; Esteban Ocon, inside

Hamilton and Bottas were the fastest in Q2, predictably, although they were the only ones who did not need to mount the soft tires. The men of Mercedes, although their car was much more nervous, they confirmed their great Saturday here, although they still had to finish the job.

Who could not be with them in Q3 was Fernando Alonso. The Asturian, again, fell too short in this intermediate cut. While your partner Esteban Ocon he scored a more than optimal 4th place to enter the ‘top 10’, he had to settle for a poor 13th position.

Carlos Sainz also had to sweat more, although he did achieve a decent time that allowed him to cross in seventh place. Those eliminated were George Russell (for only half a tenth with the Williams), Antonio Giovinazzi, Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Raikkonen.

For the first time in the last 16 Grands Prix, Sebastian vettel went to Q3.

Q3: Carlos Sainz, imperial: 5th

The final batch was somewhat unusual. The wind and a deterioration of the track meant that the soft tires were not as competitive as they usually are, which made the first attempts the good ones.

In the case of Max verstappen, It was the second since he made a mistake in the initial one and when he passed the track limits they eliminated his time. That forced him to gamble with a single shot, and he could not with the Mercedes. By only 7 thousandths the Finn beat his theoretical leader of the ranks.

In this round, Carlos Sainz gave the chest ‘do’. His fifth time allows him to start in an unbeatable position in pursuit of a hypothetical podium, something that will have to be worked hard. Behind him, Esteban Ocon, which again had a brilliant Saturday for Alpine … in contrast to Alonso’s.

This Sunday, the race will determine if what is seen in the classification is real or not.