Valtteri Bottas will head the second row of tomorrow's Belgian GP grid, the Williams driver securing his first top 3 qualifying performance of the season.
There was no drama involved in the Finn's achievement, just a steady progress through the successive segments by both team and driver.
"It was a good session for us," commented Bottas. "We knew after practice, looking at the time sheets, that there was so much more that we could do when putting everything together with the car."
" We managed to get the balance fined-tuned really well for qualifying and the car felt good through the whole session. In Q3, it was up to me to put a lap together, and every corner together, which is not easy on this track. I had two good runs and luckily they were good enough for P3."
While the Mercedes squad still holds a healthy margin over its closest rivals, Williams, Ferrari and Red Bull remain in close contention. But rain predicted tomorrow over the Ardennes could also throw a spanner into the works.
"In normal conditions, the Mercedes guys are a bit out of reach," Bottas said. "But in the last few races we've seen that a lot of things can happen so you never know. I definitely think we can be on the podium, but it's going to be close."
Click here for a gallery of the biggest crashes at Spa-Francorchamps
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