George Russell bagged pole position for the British Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes front-row lockout with his teammate Lewis Hamilton in second, and British-top 3 with Norris in third.
For the first time Formula 1 history three British drivers will be starting the British GP at Silverstone in the top three positions, after a rain-affected qualifying session delivered the perfect result for the home fans.
The fight for pole position was intense, with both Mercedes drivers improving significantly through their final laps. Hamilton initially set the benchmark with a time of 1m25.990s, but Russell eclipsed this with a stunning 1m25.819s, solidifying his position at the top.
Lando Norris secured third place for McLaren, maintaining an all-British top three. Althought Lando made a mistake on his second and final push lap, running wide at Chapel, and aborted his last attempt.
Max Verstappen was hindered by floor damage from an off-track excursion at Copse in Q1, when he switched to slick tyres but caught a wet patch at the apex of the corner. He kept his car pointing in the right direction but the gravel damaged his Red Bull’s underside, costing him around 100 downforce points. As a result he could only manage fourth place.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri followed in fifth, with an impressive Nico Hulkenberg placing his Haas sixth on the grid thanks to recent upgrades.
Nico Hulkenberg delivered a standout performance for Haas, qualifying in sixth place. Hulkenberg’s result was aided by recent upgrades to the Haas car, which clearly paid off. This was one of Hulkenberg’s best qualifying performances in recent memory, underlining the potential of the updated car.
Carlos Sainz secured seventh place for Ferrari, a solid result but not quite matching the pace of the front runners. Sainz’s Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, had a more challenging day. Leclerc was knocked out in Q2 and will start eleventh on the grid. This was a disappointing result for the Monegasque driver, who had hoped for a much stronger qualifying session.
Aston Martin had a relatively good qualifying session, marking a return to some form for the British based team. Lance Stroll continued his strong weekend and out-qualifed his teammate by securing 8th place, with Fernando Alonso in tenth.
Alex Albon placed his Williams ninth, a brilliant result for the team at their home race, showcasing their continued drive towards improved performance this season. Logan Sargeant had his best qualifying performance of the year, making it through to Q2 and securing twelfth place for Williams.
The AlphaTauri duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo faced mixed fortunes, with Tsunoda qualifying thirteenth and Ricciardo fifteenth. Tsunoda struggled to break into the top ten, while Ricciardo, returning to the grid this season, showed flashes of his old form but couldn’t secure a higher position.
Zhou Guanyu placed his Alfa Romeo in fourteenth, a respectable position given the competitive mid-field battle. His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, just missed out on progressing to Q2, placing sixteenth after a brief rain shower in the closing minutes of Q1 hampered his final lap.
Kevin Magnussen had a frustrating session, ending up seventeenth. The Haas driver had an off-track excursion at Copse, which compromised his lap time and ultimately his qualifying position. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t recover sufficiently in the final moments of Q1.
The Alpine team had a particularly tough day, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualifying eighteenth and twentieth respectively. Gasly was already set to start from the back due to penalties for taking new power unit components and will therefore start from the pit lane. Ocon struggled with the changing conditions and couldn’t find the pace needed to move up the grid.
Sergio Perez had a disastrous qualifying session. The Red Bull driver beached his car in the gravel early in Q1 after losing grip on his out-lap in changeable conditions. It was the exact same spot that caught out Verstappen, but Perez ended up spinning in to the gravel whereas Max drove straight through it. Perez’s mistake resulted in a red flag and an early end to his session, leaving him nineteenth on the grid with yet another poor result.
Results
Qualifying results:
- George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:25.819
- Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +0.171
- Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.211
- Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull +0.384
- Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +0.418
- Nico HULKENBERG Haas +0.519
- Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +0.690
- Lance STROLL Aston Martin +0.766
- Alexander ALBON Williams +0.821
- Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +1.098
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Logan Sargeant, Williams
- Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB
- Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber
- Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB
- Valtteri Bottas, Kick Sauber
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
