The British Grand Prix appears poised to deliver an unpredictable battle for victory between the grid’s big names on Sunday amid fascinating and different approaches to winning the race.

Just a week after McLaren dominated at the Austrian Grand Prix, the battle to head the field at Silverstone has been far less clear cut with Ferrari and Red Bull mounting a strong challenge to the world championship leaders.

In a thrilling five-way fight for pole position, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who delivered under pressure with a brilliant final lap while rivals were left to rue costly small errors.

Verstappen shares the front row with championship leader Oscar Piastri, who is one place ahead of McLaren team-mate and main title rival Lando Norris in third.

Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had appeared firmly in contention for the front row too amid a strong start to the weekend for the Scuderia but dropped behind George Russell to the third row after a Verstappen-like final effort brought to life what had hitherto been a low-key weekend for the Silver Arrows.

The grid’s top six were split by just two tenths of a second to underline this weekend’s fine margins,

And Verstappen, who has gone a different way on car set-up to his rivals after struggling on Friday, is expecting things to be just as close over the full 52-lap race distance.

“I can see a proper battle,” predicted the four-time world champion, who trails Piastri by 61 points in the standings.

“Even in the long runs there were a lot of cars that were quick and even in qualifying it was all quite tight. Quite different lap time gains, some quick in the straights, some quick in the corners. I think it’s who can keep their tyres alive in the stint.”

“In the race runs we struggled a bit more on tyre life and I don’t know how that will be.

“We also have to wait and see how the weather will be in general if there some rain or nice. The straight-line speed is nice to have, but you still need to manage the tyres around here because it’s very tough with all these high-speed corners.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m not really in a battle, so just try to have fun and get the best possible result.”

‘Fast and slow in different places’ – whose set-up will prove to be the winning one?

Not for the first time this season, Verstappen and Red Bull hauled themselves into contention when it most mattered for qualifying just 24 hours after struggling with their RB21 car throughout a difficult Friday.

In an attempt to dial out the understeer that had plagued them through practice, Red Bull chose a lower-downforce set-up – something which has left Verstappen prodigiously fast down Silverstone’s straights.

There is, however, usually a trade-off with such an approach.

Verstappen’s car is not as fast as the McLarens and Ferraris in some high-speed corners, where downforce is king, and could be more vulnerable to tyre wear across the Grand Prix than those with higher-downforce settings.

“What is quite interesting is that Ferrari is incredibly quick in the corners, but slower on the straight, McLaren is in the middle overall and we are incredibly quick on the straight but slow in the corners,” said Verstappen.

“It can be quite interesting with how everything will work out. I hope for an exciting race between a lot of teams.”

Having been overhauled by their main rival in qualifying, McLaren’s drivers are certainly hoping the cards ultimately fall back in their favour.

Norris, who trails Piastri by 15 points in the championship, said: “It’s hard, honestly, to know until you get behind and you have the dirty air and DRS and things like that.

“To be honest, at the minute, our DRS speed probably just about matches Max’s speed. So, I think it’ll be tough because we’ll probably catch him in the high speed, but we just won’t really close much when we open the DRS.

“I think it can be tough, but there’s also probably more opportunities than a normal race… between everyone, we’re fast and slow in different places.”

Piastri told Sky Sports F1: “There’s a few opportunities [to win]. Obviously, the start is the main one, but the downforce levels we are running are very different to Max so there are opportunities both ways.

“Also, the tyres. Yesterday they were tricky to look after, so we’ll see what kind of challenges they bring. I think there will be a few opportunities.”

He added: “It’s also been interesting with other teams, it’s not always just been the higher the downforce you have the quicker you are in all the corners. Some of the corners we’re still slower than the Red Bull and Max. So, it’s not that straightforward, but I think it’s going to be an interesting thing to see tomorrow.”

‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’ – Hamilton not ruling out Ferrari

But for a snap of understeer on the final corner of his final lap in Q3, Hamilton believes he would have qualified second on a track where he has finished on the podium 12 times in a row.

The seven-time world champion topped the timesheet in Friday’s opening practice session and would have likely done so again on Saturday morning had Franco Colapinto not crashed into the barriers and brought out a red flag.

After a “decent” weekend in the Ferrari, he hopes home support and the potential for rain could boost his hopes of winning at Silverstone for the second year in a row.

“I think it will be very, very hard to beat the McLarens or the Red Bulls but when there is a will there is a way,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“I’ll give it absolutely everything tomorrow. We are a little bit far behind where I want to be, but with the weather and this amazing crowd…”

And what about the weather?

Some rain is forecast for Silverstone on Sunday and that might even bring Russell – who qualified a surprise fourth in a Mercedes that has struggled in warmer conditions – into the mix at the front.

“I think recent form shows we’re probably not going to be the strongest in the race pace, but it’s looking a bit cooler and that’s good news for us,” Russell said.

Norris believes Ferrari and Mercedes will be threats should it rain.

“I expect everyone [to challenge], probably more so the Ferraris because they’re the highest downforce of the lot,” said Norris.

“Their high-speed performance is pretty impressive and a good step better than ours even. So, I would probably more likely say Ferrari, but I just wouldn’t rule out the Mercedes as well. I think they’re quick.”

The potential for rain is on Piastri’s mind as well. “Of course, we are in England so the weather is never far away,” he joked as he discussed the opportunities he has to overhaul Verstappen at the front.

The race looks to be as unpredictable as the Great British weather – and that means it is not to be missed.

Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule

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.