BRITISH GP – Max Verstappen comes from nowhere to take pole a tenth ahead of Oscar Piastri
Max Verstappen has beaten both McLarens on his final attempt in Q3 to take pole position for the British Grand Prix, the four-time champion came from nowhere to set a 24.892, going a tenth faster than Oscar Piastri. The Dutchman went into qualifying as the outsider but showed his class in a very tight Q3, as he put the lap together.
Verstappen’s forty-fourth pole equals the record set by Sebastian Vettel for the team, showing his class with a mighty attempt to go ahead of favourite McLaren. On a weekend when Red Bull looked to be out of the fight. Piastri was a hundredth and a half ahead of teammate Lando Norris, as they looked strong enough for pole.
The Dutchman suffered what could be a fatal blow to his championship six days ago in Spielberg, following a first-lap retirement which left him sixty-one points back from Piastri, with that disappointment followed by a week of speculation linking the Dutchman with a blockbuster switch to Mercedes next season.
All the distractions following Austria were put to one side, as he offered a reminder he will take advantage of any opportunity. Piastri, who had held provisional pole after the first runs in Q3, was just over a tenth back in second, while his nearest title challenger and teammate Norris was just a further hundredth and a half behind in third.
But Piastri made a tiny error on his final attempt, leaving him behind Verstappen. Norris leading two of the four Englishmen after going two hundredths ahead of George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton seven hundredths off his former teammate. Russell had looked to be not in the mix for pole as Mercedes struggled for most of qualifying, before making a huge improvement at the end of Q3 to take fourth.
Verstappen said: “It was tricky out there with the wind. It was shifting around a bit. These cars are extremely sensitive to it. 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. I’m happy with qualifying. It’s a big boost for the team as well and I’m excited to go racing tomorrow.”
Piastri said, “I was happy with the first lap. It was mega, to be honest. I was trying to think of how I would go faster and I didn’t. The second lap was a bit messy but it has been tight all weekend; a little on the table, but we’ll never know if it’s enough.”
Mercedes had not looked competitive for much of qualifying, but a typically strong lap from the Briton on his final run vaulted him ahead of the Ferraris, whose promising pace through the weekend faded when it mattered.
Ferrari looked to be a genuine challenger for pole, but the nine-time Silverstone winner had a scrapy final sector, leaving him over half a tenth off Russell. However, they were at risk earlier in Q2, but had calculated it just right to allow themselves an extra lap and get through safety through to the final part of qualifying as both moved to the top of the times.
Hamilton has struggled to match Leclerc for much of the first half of the season, but at a circuit where he has nine wins he can never be counted out. The Englishman was fastest until the final sector and was left in fifth after making a mistake in the last sector, while Leclerc said he also made a mistake at the end of his lap.
Kimi Antonelli was around a quarter of a tenth off Leclerc as he went nearly a tenth faster than Ollie Bearman. Bearman ensured all the Brits, except British-Thai Alex Albon, were in the top ten for their home Grand Prix with a strong performance in his first F1 weekend at Silverstone.
However, Antonelli will start tenth because of his collision last weekend in Spielberg with Verstappen and Bearman, eighteenth for a red flag infringement in FP3. Fernando Alonso was ninth a tenth and a half behind Bearman as he was also a tenth and a half ahead of Pierre Gasly, completing the top ten.
Carlos Sainz was fastest of those knocked out in Q2 the Williams driver missing out by three hundredths, as he went eight hundredths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. Isack Hadjar put his Racing Bull just under two hundredths behind the Red Bull as he went a quarter of a tenth faster than Alex Albon, while Esteban Ocon was slowest in Q2, six hundredths behind the Williams.
Liam Lawson was fastest of those knocked out in Q1, the Racing Bulls driver missing out by over a tenth as he went six thousandths ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto. Lance Stroll split the two Saubers, the Canadian was half a tenth behind the Brazilian as he went seven hundredth faster than Nico Hulkenberg.
Franco Colapinto was last nearly half a tenth behind Hulkenberg in a close Q1 where six tenths covered the entire field.
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