Valtteri Bottas reveals to week-long grind giving him qualifying edge over Lewis Hamilton

70th Anniversary Grand Prix

Bottas reveals to week-long grind giving him qualifying edge over Hamilton

Less than a tenth of a second separated the duo at Silverstone

Sam Hall

Saturday 8 August 2020 16:53

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Valtteri Bottas has revealed to relentless preparation helping him find the edge over Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Bottas finished just 0.063secs ahead of Hamilton at the death to claim the 13th pole position of his Formula 1 career, and his second this season after converting his last in the season-opener in Austria into a victory.

Looking back over the past week since the misery of dropping out of second place with a tyre failure three laps from home in the British Grand Prix, Bottas said: "From last weekend to this week we've been working on everything we could improve with the car.

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"For us, we've been able to find more in terms of set-up and, at least for me, driving-wise find a bit more.

"It's the same process that goes for this weekend. We've been able to go in the right direction through the weekend until the qualifying."

Despite the high of his qualifying performance, Bottas has already switched focus on closing the 30-point gap to Hamilton in the drivers' standings.

"Mentally when you are starting from the pole you can only aim to win the race and obviously, the starting point for it is good," added Bottas.

"I think the race pace is there so the first job is to get a good start off the line, like I had last weekend, and go from there. "Mentally it is to try to win it. That is it."

Assessing his last-gasp push on his final hot lap, Bottas said: "It feels good. I just love qualifying and especially when it goes well.

"It's a good feeling and really nice to get everything out of myself and out of the car.

"I think set up-wise, we've made good steps from last weekend, that's why I think the qualifying performance for me was better today than last weekend. I'm really pleased with that."