Max Verstappen beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to pole position for the British Grand Prix as the Red Bull driver triumphed in a thrilling qualifying contest at Silverstone.
The top three, along with both Ferraris, appeared to be in a five-way battle for pole going into the final runs of the session, but Verstappen was able to hold it together, while his rivals made errors in the challenging windy conditions, to set a leading time of 1:24.892s.
World championship leader 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 team-mate Norris was just a further 0.015s behind in third.
George Russell had appeared completely out of contention for the leading positions with Mercedes struggling for the entire session, but made a remarkable improvement on his final run to finish fourth, just 0.137s behind Verstappen.
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Max Verstappen stormed to take pole as Lewis Hamilton only qualified fifth at the British Grand Prix
That meant Ferrari, who had been hugely impressive throughout practice, had to settle for the third row of the grid with Lewis Hamilton beating Charles Leclerc to fifth.
Verstappen’s hopes of winning a fifth successive drivers’ title suffered a major blow as a first-lap retirement at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix left him 61 points back from Piastri, with that disappointment followed by a week of speculation linking the Dutchman with a blockbuster switch to Mercedes next season.
However, in typical fashion, he put the potential distraction aside to offer a reminder that he will always be waiting to take advantage of any McLaren errors, even if that might not be enough to mount a serious title challenge.
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Haas’ Oliver Bearman was handed a 10-place grid penalty for this pit-entry crash during practice three at the British Grand Prix
While he was disappointed to have failed to improve on his time on his final lap, Piastri could take consolation from qualifying ahead of Norris, as he seeks to extend his 15-point lead in the drivers’ standings.
Kimi Antonelli was seventh for Mercedes but will start from 10th as he serves a three-place grid penalty for running into Verstappen in Austria.
Oliver Bearman took an impressive eighth for Haas but will start from 18th after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for a bizarre final practice incident in which he accelerated under red flags before crashing on his way into the pit lane.
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Alpine’s Franco Colapinto brings out the red flag in Q1 at the British Grand Prix after spinning into the barriers
Fernando Alonso took advantage of Aston Martin’s upgrades to take ninth, while Pierre Gasly impressed by getting his Alpine into the top 10.
The future of Gasly’s under pressure team-mate Franco Colapinto appears even more uncertain after the Argentine spun into the gravel in Q1 before having to stop on track moments later, leaving him starting from the back of the grid.
Despite Verstappen’s excellence, his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles continued as the Japanese driver finished 12th.
Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the British Grand Prix
Sunday July 6
8.15am: F4 Race 2
9.25am: F3 Feature Race
11am: F2 Feature Race
1.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction*
6pm: Ted’s Notebook*
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
