Max Verstappen beat McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to secure F1 British GP pole in a close qualifying.
FP3 –
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets during Saturday’s final practice session for the British Grand Prix, leading the way from McLaren rival Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – as rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Ollie Bearman endured late crashes. After a bright and warm first day at Silverstone, topped by home favourite Lando Norris, cloudy, cooler conditions greeted the drivers for FP3, which gave them one more chance to tweak their cars ahead of the mid-afternoon Qualifying hour.
When the session got under way at a slightly delayed time of 1135, drivers gradually trickled out on track to begin their programmes and assess the conditions – Pirelli’s soft, medium and hard compound tyres all being used in the opening minutes. Lewis Hamilton was one of the early movers when the action got under way, bolting on a set of soft tyres and clocking a 1m 26.529s to hold the provisional P1 spot, which prompted plenty of cheers from the packed grandstand and grass banks around the track.
As per Friday’s running, there were some significant gusts of wind for Hamilton and the rest of the drivers to deal with – seemingly highlighted when Lance Stroll drifted his way out of the Luffield hairpin and just about prevented his Aston Martin from spinning. Kimi Antonelli also reported a “massive moment” through the Maggotts and Becketts complex when he began to push, while there was drama for Alex Albon when he faced a slow-moving Aston Martin at the entry to Copse and swore over the radio to express his frustration.
As for lap times, Leclerc used the soft tyres to get down to a 1m 25.922s and take over from team mate Hamilton in P1, a couple of tenths clear of a more competitive looking Max Verstappen, who nonetheless complained of brake bias difficulties. “A little bit of rain,” Leclerc then commented over the radio with around 20 minutes to go, but it was nowhere near enough to stop drivers from pumping in laps on slicks and making improvements – George Russell proving this when he slotted into second position.
With some 15 minutes remaining, Norris sent the home crowd wild again by going quickest on a 1m 25.606s, followed closely by Verstappen and team mate Piastri via similarly significant gains, before Leclerc fired in a 1m 25.498s to reclaim P1. Hamilton was also on a rapid lap at this point, hitting the Sector 2 beam 0.074s clear of Leclerc, only for the red flag to be thrown for debris on track – meaning he had to abandon the effort. “We think the bodywork might be yours,” was the subsequent message to Haas driver Bearman.
The session resumed with a few minutes to go but was soon halted again when Gabriel Bortoleto lost control of his Kick Sauber through the aforementioned Maggotts/Becketts sweeps, bounced over the grass and ended in the gravel with suspension damage. It meant Leclerc ended up fastest over Piastri, Verstappen and Norris, with Yuki Tsunoda an encouraging fifth for Red Bull, Bearman taking sixth despite another moment late on when he misjudged his entry to the pit lane, spun and damaged his front wing, and Albon putting Williams back into the top 10 positions.
Russell was the fastest of the Mercedes cars on a so far difficult weekend for the Silver Arrows, placing eighth over the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, Hamilton, and the other Williams and Haas machines of Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon. Next up was Antonelli in 14th, as the Saubers of Nico Hulkenberg and Bortoleto along with the Aston Martins and Alpines brought up the rear – Fernando Alonso placing in front of Franco Colapinto, Stroll and Pierre Gasly.
Bearman penalty: https://x.com/fia/status/1941484257643278644
F1 qualifying –
Max Verstappen has clinched pole position at the British Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver storming through with a stunning lap to put himself at the front of the grid ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. While Piastri had secured provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, the Australian made a mistake on his final effort and could not improve. But Verstappen put his lap together perfectly to go fastest on an effort of 1m 24.892s, putting himself 0.103s clear of Piastri’s McLaren. The other papaya car of Lando Norris will start from third, the Briton also unable to better his previous time on his last flying lap.
George Russell followed for Mercedes in fourth, while Lewis Hamilton wound up in fifth, despite the Ferrari driver being Piastri’s closest challenger in the first runs. Hamilton’s team mate Charles Leclerc claimed sixth, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli taking seventh ahead of Ollie Bearman in eighth, though the Haas driver will start near the back of the field thanks to a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement in third practice. Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin in ninth place, while Pierre Gasly was an impressive 10th at the wheel of the Alpine.
Williams had a disappointing day, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both exiting Q2 in P11 and P14 respectively. It was also another tough outing for Yuki Tsunoda, who found himself down in P12 for Red Bull. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took 13th place, with the Haas of Esteban Ocon the final car to miss out on the top 10 shootout in 15th. There was drama in Q1 when Alpine’s Franco Colapinto spun off into the barriers at the final corner, bringing out the red flags and leaving the Argentinian driver down in P20.
Also eliminated in the first segment of Qualifying – which saw the whole field barring Colapinto covered by just six-tenths – were Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in 16th, the Kick Sauber duo of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg in 17th and 19th respectively and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll between them in 18th.
Q3 –
After an action-packed build-up, attentions turned to the top 10 shootout at Silverstone, with the Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes duos joined by Verstappen, Alonso, Gasly and Bearman, though the latter would drop down the order thanks to a 10-place grid penalty from a red flag infringement in FP3. As the first laps went on the board, Piastri secured provisional pole position by pumping in a 1m 24.995s, while Hamilton proved to be his nearest challenger on a lap 0.135s adrift of the Australian. The other McLaren of Norris was third, with Verstappen and Leclerc following behind.
With the clock ticking down, the time arrived for the decisive final runs. Could Piastri hold on to score his fifth P1 grid slot of the year, or might Hamilton add a record eighth pole position at Silverstone to his name – and his first in general since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix? Piastri looked to be improving, but a mistake on his lap meant that the Australian could not better his previous lap. The likes of Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc were also unable to make improvements – but Verstappen put together a sublime lap to grab pole position, the Red Bull man going quickest thanks to his effort of 1m 24.892s.
This put him 0.103s clear of Piastri, while Norris had to settle for third. Russell moved up the order to take fourth, pushing Hamilton and Leclerc down to fifth and sixth respectively, while Antonelli claimed seventh, though the Italian will drop down three places after receiving a penalty last time out in Austria. Bearman slotted into eighth but, like Antonelli, will not keep his original position owing to a grid drop, the Haas driver moving down 10 places. Alonso and Gasly, meanwhile, rounded out the top 10.
Here’s what was said after Friday in F1 British GP
