Formula 1 2020: Valtteri Bottas beats Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to pole for Eifel Grand Prix

Nurburg: Valtteri Bottas ended Lewis Hamilton’s run of five consecutive Formula One pole positions Saturday by claiming first place on the grid for the Eifel Grand Prix. Hamilton briefly sat atop the time charts after toppling Max Verstappen later in the third session, but his teammate Bottas sped through seconds later with an unbeatable time, fastest in all three sectors of the Nürburgring track. Bottas’ time was 1 minute 25.269 seconds, beating Hamilton by .256 and Verstappen by .293. Ferrari recovered a little ground after a miserable run of races, with Charles Leclerc qualifying fourth and Sebastian Vettel 11th. Nico Hülkenberg returned as a late replacement after Racing Point driver Lance Stroll felt unwell . The German previously stood in for Racing Point’s other driver, Sergio Perez, in August when Perez tested positive for the coronavirus. He was in the nearby city of Cologne and hurried to the track upon hearing he was needed to stand in for Stroll. Hülkenberg missed practice and couldn’t adapt quickly enough in qualifying as he placed 20th and last. It will be the first F1 race since 2013 at the Nürburgring and is named the Eifel Grand Prix after a nearby mountain range.