Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas (C) after qualifying in pole position with teammate Lewis Hamilton (L), who qualified second and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who qualified third REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
SOCHI, Russia: Valtteri Bottas beat his Mercedes teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Bottas was 0.145 ahead of Hamilton and 0.56 ahead of third-placed Sebastian Vettel, who is 40 points off Hamilton in the title race.
Hamilton was fastest in the first two qualifying sessions but went wide on his last fast lap and had to abandon his challenge.
Vettel has said Ferrari is struggling to get the most out of its tires.
The Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have grid penalties for Sunday's race, as do the two Toro Rossos and McLaren's Fernando Alonso.
