Bottas is annoyed that Verstappen can officially claim pole

Valtteri Bottas was not only fastest in today's sprint race, but also in the 'traditional' qualifying session on Friday evening. Still, this pole will not be officially registered in his name. A bitter pill for the driver who announced last week that he will leave Mercedes.

The Italian Grand Prix was one of the few weekends so far this year where Bottas seemed the better of the two Mercedes drivers. That he can't add that pole to his record because of an engine change is therefore extra sour.

“For sure it’s annoying having done a good last two days", he is quoted afterwards by Motorsport.com. "But at least I got a few points – every point counts. For me personally and for us as a team. And a beautiful medal.”

He doesn't want to dwell on it for too long and still sees a chance of getting on the podium in tomorrow's race, despite having to start from the back of the grid. The Mercedes is extremely fast at the Monza circuit and last year we saw with Pierre Gasly's victory that anything can happen here.