Max Verstappen had finished qualifying for the British Grand Prix as fastest and thus took pole position for the race at Silverstone. The Dutch racer recorded a lap time of 1:26.720 and finished at the top of Q3. Verstappen will share the front row with Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri, his team-mate at McLaren, rounded out the top three.

Qualifying in England starts at 15.00 local time. This session is run in cloudy conditions. After it rained this afternoon, the track was still a bit damp and slippery. Nearly everyone put in a good performance, but DRS was not allowed to be used in the opening phase of qualifying. It was 22 degrees Celsius outside and track temperature and southerly winds of three kilometers per hour.

Slip and slide

While fifteen of the twenty drivers were delivered on soft tires, intermediates have been bolted under Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s Ferraris, Logan Sargeant’s Williams and Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas cars. That turned out to be not the right choice and the five went back for the red-edged rubber. At the start of Q1 we saw something rare: Lewis Hamilton made a mistake of his own accord. The Briton spun at Stowe on his first timed lap. It turned out to be the smoothest corner on the circuit, as several drivers made mistakes there, including Sainz and Alexander Albon. Esteban Ocon almost crashed into Zhou Guanyu at Maggotts after an Alfa Romeo driver tried to let him pass at an unfortunate moment. Nyck de Vries was sent down the Oscar Piastry trail and is still under investigation for a unsafe release.

Verstappen crashes in the pit lane

In the second half of Q1, the field was largely unplayed as some dips were expected in the final minutes of the session, so there was a rush to put in some good lap times. Albon’s best time was taken due to track limits, which put him in twentieth and final position, when the red flag was then raised with three minutes remaining. Magnussen stopped in the middle of the track after the Ferrari’s power unit suddenly turned off. Two minutes before the Q1 restart, Verstappen wanted to race to the end of the pit lane, but the Dutchman hit a wall and needed a new front wing.

Pérez was eliminated in Q1

When the green flag was raised again, everyone went down the drain line. And the longer you are out, the more chances there are for good lap times. Since Sergio Pérez was leading the field, the Red Bull drivers had the biggest disadvantage. There was a lot of pushing and pushing between Hamilton and Verstappen and between Ferrari to find a good spot on the track. Lando Norris took the first time in 1:28.917 ahead of Leclerc, George Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Albon, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hülkenberg and Ocon. Valtteri Bottas is eleventh ahead of Sainz, Logan Sargeant, Piastri and Fernando Alonso, but will not be competing in Q2 after his Ferrari engine also gave up. Pérez will not start outside the top ten for the fifth successive Grand Prix. Mexico qualified in Q16 ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou, Nyck de Vries and Magnussen.

Verstappen took the lead again in Q2

In the second session there was a crazy combination of sunshine and some drops. Therefore, in the first round of Q2, the drivers were running a bit slower than they were at the end of Q1. Halfway through Alonso was on top in 1:29.052 ahead of Albon, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen, Piastri and Ocon. Sargeant was pushed out of the top ten after crossing track boundaries. The rain held back and the track was getting faster and faster. Verstappen then went first under 1:28. He remained on top in Q2 by 1:27.702 ahead of McLarens of Piastry and Norris. Albon is fourth ahead of Sainz, Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, Gasly and Russell. Hülkenberg missed Q3 by a tenth of a second. Stroll and Ocon faced each other and finished twelfth and thirteenth respectively. For Sargeant it’s no more than P14 for Bottas, who is therefore unable to take action.

Verstappen took pole, but all eyes were on McLaren

The sun continued to shine in Q3, the track got faster and the drivers were finally allowed to use DRS. Verstappen dominated the first round of top ten qualifying with a lap time of 1:27.084. He was six tenths quicker than Hamilton, Piastri and Leclerc, while Sainz finished top five midway through the session ahead of Alonso, Albon, Gasly, Russell and Norris. At Piastry, McLaren had to check the floor after the Australian rookie qualified Chapel on the rise of the Straight Hangar. In the second lap, Norris almost appeared to take the lead from Verstappen, but Verstappen was quicker again. Verstappen improved by 1:26.720 and will start the Grand Prix from P1 for the fifth year in a row. McLarens qualified in second and third with Norris ahead of Piastri. Leclerc is fourth ahead of Sainz, Russell, Hamilton, Albon, Alonso and Gasly.