well, well, well. Bottas beats Russell to pole by 0.026.
to me it says Russell is top flight legit being able to almost take pole.
It's a long race tomorrow, so we shall see what happens.
I guarantee you, if Hamilton was paired with either Russell or Bottas he would have pulled off a 2-3tenths advantage to take pole.
The fact that Russell and Bottas are this close is a very softy indictment on Bottas. He's a very good driver in a very good car. But it is clear he hasn't got that champions edge in performance or tenacity.
If Russell gets past him at the star then I fully expect him to fade and remain p2 or p3.
During the post quali interviews, i was hoping Russell would mention something to DiResta about his comments about him being in the car. but he kept it civil and only expressed how much of a learning curve he had to go through in such a short time.
On to the race!

Finally, for those that say the car is that good and proves that anyone can drive it to the top, i would push back against that.
For one, Hamilton extracts way more out of that car than anyone could and even in races where it seems the car is a bit weaker than the others, Hamilton still finds a way to succeed with it.
Russell is an immense talent and it is clear he has the capability to be lightning quick with a good car. Put him in the RBR or Racing point and you would still see him towards the sharp end of the grid.
The mercedes has a very small operating window to get properly hooked up and he has managed to find it in 3 days. if you put any other 2 drivers in that car outside of verstappen, perez, gasly and leclerc, and I am sure they won't be on the front row.