DPA
Silverstone
Four time reigning world champion Max Verstappen produced another masterclass when he stunned the favoured Ferraris and McLarens for an impressive pole position for the British Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday.
Red Bull’s Verstappen clocked 1 minute 24.892 seconds on the iconic 5.891 kilometres Silverstone course to steal first place on Sunday’s grid from championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren.
Piastri trailed by .103 of a second to finish just ahead of championship leading team-mate Lando Norris, who led a trio of Britons which also included Mercedes’ George Russell in fourth and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
Hamilton has a record nine wins at Silverstone and has been on the podium in the last 11 races there. The seven-time world champion seemed on course towards a top two finish but did not quite manage to bring it home.
Hamilton had topped first practice and team-mate Leclerc the final session but the Ferraris did not quite deliver in qualifying, with Leclerc sixth behind his team-mate.
Verstappen’s fourth season and 44th overall pole was meanwhile sweet for him and the team a week after his Austrian GP race ended in lap one after being hit by the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.
“That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track when you have to go flat out. You have to be really committed and it’s really enjoyable,” Verstappen said.
“I’m happy with qualifying. It’s a big boost for the team as well and I’m excited to go racing tomorrow.” Piastri tops the championship 15 points from Norris and 61 ahead of Verstappen, with Sunday’s race marking halfway in the 24-race season.
“The last lap was a little bit messy but it’s been tight all weekend,” Piastri said.
“It’s going to be a fun race. It has been very evenly matched between us, Max and the Ferraris.”
Norris, firmly back in the title race after his win in Austria ahead of Piastri, said that “little margins, little mistakes” and “a couple of hundredths here and there” cost him a better qualifying result.
“I think it’s going to be fun tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a good battle between the three of us - or probably more with Lewis, Charles and George,” he said.
Q1 was red flagged after Franco Colapinto of Alpine spun off and then stopped back on the track.
Antonelli and Haas driver Oliver Bearman came seventh and eighth, respectively, but will start further back due to grid penalties.
Antonelli loses three places due to the Austrian incident, and Bearman 10 places for driving too fast under a red flag in final practice, where he then also hit the barriers entering the pit lane.
Starting Grid
Front row: Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren); 2nd row: Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), George Russell (GBR/Mercedes); 3rd row: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari); 4th row: Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine); 5th row: Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams), Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes); 6th row: Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull), Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB); 7th row: Alex Albon (THA/Williams), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas); 8th row: Liam Lawson (NZL/RB), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber); 9th row: Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas); 10th row: Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine-Renault).
