Hamilton takes pole position for first Tuscan Grand Prix

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the first Tuscan Grand Prix at Italy’s Mugello circuit, with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas joining him on the front row. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified third with team mate Alexander Albon fourth.

? You’ve got to hand it to @LewisHamilton

That’s his 7️⃣th pole this season ?#TuscanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/FTSnwmH1gU

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2020

Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari’s head up for their 1 000th world championship grand prix, qualifying fifth at a track owned by the Italian team.

Hamilton powered to the 95th pole position of his career at the Tuscan Grand Prix. The six-time world champion headed into Saturday’s qualifying session having failed to top any of the three practice sessions staged at Mugello.

Career pole No. 95 for @LewisHamilton ?#TuscanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/OSODDgMass

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 12, 2020

But, as he so often does, Hamilton saved his best for the crunch, edging out Bottas by just 0.059 seconds as Mercedes secured another front-row lockout.

Max Verstappen was unable to take the challenge to Mercedes; the Dutchman finishing third, 0.365 seconds behind Hamilton. His Red Bull team-mate Albon was fourth.

Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel finished fifth and 14th respectively at Ferrari’s 1 000th Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez of Racing Point will start sixth on the grid.

Meanwhile, Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales set a lap record to claim pole position for Sunday’s San Marino MotoGP. Vinales set a lap record of one minute, 31.41 seconds in qualifying to edge out Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli in Misano.

It was the Spaniard’s second pole of the season and he was 0.31 seconds quicker than Morbidelli.

Championship leader Fabio Quartararo will start the race from third on the grid.

With Misano welcoming fans back into the grandstands with social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, supporters had plenty to cheer as seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi qualified in fourth for his home race.

Four Yamaha bikes claimed the top four places in qualifying for the very first time. The injury to MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has opened the door for a new winner in 2020. Marquez has won the last four championships, and six of the seven titles since he came to MotoGP in 2013.

He broke his arm in the first race of the season in July and could miss the rest of 2020.