Bottas pips Hamilton to pole at Silverstone

Valtteri Bottas marked his new Mercedes contract for 2021 with a pole position at the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Bottas beat team mate Lewis Hamilton to pole by 0.067 seconds ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the Racing Point.

Bottas said: "It feels good. I love qualifying! We made good steps from last weekend, so I'm really pleased.

"The race pace is there, so my first job is to get the car off the line and go from there."

Hamilton said: "It wasn't that great but Valtteri did a great job. For me, it just wasn't a great lap. People won't be managing tyres tomorrow, I don't think people will be doing a one stop after last weekend."

Hulkenberg said: "It has been a crazy few days! I feel much better in the car this week but quali was still tricky. I'm surprised but there's a big smile on my face and I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Max Verstappen took his Red Bull to fourth place, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Renault and Lance Stroll in the second Racing Point.

Pierre Gasly took his Alpha Tauri to a fine seventh spot, outqualifying Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Alex Albon. Lando Norris rounded out the top 10 for McLaren, who struggled at Silverstone after a strong showing last week.