Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas has taken his maiden Formula One pole position after beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just 0.023s in Saturday’s qualifying session for the 2017 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. I did not see this coming. Bottas kept Scandi cool under the hot Bahrain sun. Anything can happen in Formula One… and it usually does. And that’s what makes this sport so exciting.
In recent years, Mercedes have dominated the track. Nico Rosberg’s retirement last year, after having snatched the World Champion title from Lewis Hamilton, took me by surprise. When Mercedes announced Bottas would be taking Rosberg’s place, I wasn’t sure he would be able to keep up with Hamilton, much less challenge him. But I was proved wrong.
Ferrari is the second best team on the track. I’m hoping they’ll really be able to challenge Mercedes this year. Sebastian Vettel won the first race of the 2017 season in Melbourne. His teammate, another Finn, Kimi Raikkonen is an experienced and undoubtedly skilled driver. Will he be able to give the Mercedes boys a run for their money? Or will he be too busy fighting off Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo? Time will tell!
Tomorrow, we’ll see if Bottas can get a good start and turn his pole position into a win. I can’t wait! One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a spectacular race.
