The Latest Breaking News from Valtteri Bottas

At the start of the 60-minute session, AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries set the first-place benchmark at 1m17.918s during the opening laps using the prototype compound construction set to become standard across Pirelli's range from the upcoming British GP, which several other runners sampled early on too.

At the start of the 60-minute session, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries set the first-place benchmark at 1m17.918s during the opening laps using the prototype compound construction set to become standard across Pirelli’s range from the upcoming British GP, which several other runners sampled early on too.

The Hinwil outfit currently lies eighth in the constructors’ championship, with Bottas only logging points when he finished eighth in the opening race in Bahrain.

Verstappen led every lap, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, but had to negotiate his way through a heavy rain shower. He clipped the wall just before pitting for intermediate tyres but benefited when Alonso stopped for slicks just before the rain arrived.

The Dutchman overcame a two-tenth deficit to Alonso in the final sector to make a last-gasp swoop for the fastest time, his resulting 1m11.365s cementing his first pole position in qualifying at the Monte Carlo circuit.

The Dutchman overcame a two-tenth deficit to Alonso in the final sector to make a last-gasp swoop for the fastest time, his resulting 1m11.365s cementing his first pole position in qualifying at the Monte Carlo circuit.

Verstappen will start ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Sergio Perez posted the first representative laptime with a 1m15.641s to go top, managing to avoid a stopped Esteban Ocon in the tunnel as the Alpine driver reported a loss of power. The Frenchman returned his car to the pits after a swift reset at the steering wheel, but this…

Sergio Perez posted the first representative lap time with a 1m15.641s to go top, managing to avoid a stopped Esteban Ocon in the tunnel as the Alpine driver reported a loss of power.

And, while it is still early in the weekend, Valtteri Bottas’ eighth place slot in FP2 has at least offered an early indication that its changes could have shifted it up a gear in the ultra-tight midfield battle.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the pace in Friday practice, leading the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.