Lewis Hamilton qualified quickest for the Turkish Grand Prix on Saturday but a 10-place grid penalty for the Formula One championship leader meant Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas took pole position.

Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen, two points behind the Briton with seven races remaining, qualified third for Red Bull and will join Bottas on the front row at Istanbul Park on Sunday.

The pole was a first since Portugal in May for Bottas, and the 18th of his career, but Hamilton was the fastest in every phase of qualifying after taking the hit for a new engine that exceeded his season’s allocation.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) is going to be difficult but I’ll give it everything,” said Britain’s seven-time world champion Hamilton of the task ahead. “We’ve got the long straight down the back, we’ll see what we can do. Hopefully, we can give the fans here a good race.”

Verstappen took a grid penalty at the previous race in Russia and finished second after starting at the back of the field, his progress helped after late rain caused problems for others.

Mercedes will be looking to Bottas, who is leaving the team for Alfa Romeo at the end of the season, to keep Verstappen behind him while Hamilton sets about fighting through from 11th.

“I’ll focus on my own race, that’s the way to go when you start in front, and try to keep up a good pace,” said the Finn.

Verstappen struggled with the set-up in Friday practice, with the track far grippier than last year’s slippery surface, but said the team had made “a decent recovery”.

“Lining up in second, let’s wait and see what the weather will do, but overall I’m pretty happy,” said the Dutch 24-year-old. “Let’s see how competitive we will be in the race. The tyre wear seems quite high around the track, but it’s quite fun to drive.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will share the second row with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who will be expected by Red Bull to make life difficult for Hamilton as a driver for their sister team.