Verstappen beats McLaren to pole at the British GP

Fast-charging competitors,  evolving weather conditions and internal frustrations weren’t enough to deny Max Verstappen pole position at the British Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver set to share the front row with Oscar Piastri.

Qualifying 1:

The threat of rain looming in the Silverstone air wasn’t enough to force the field out of their garages at the start of an expected six-way battle for pole position, with Pierre Gasly — one of six cars to maximise the 18-minute opener — instantly reporting light rain across the circuit.

One of the hottest contenders in securing a front-row start, Oscar Piastri instantly made his presence known in Q1 when he shot to the top of the initial standings with a time of 1:26.002s — just 0.039s ahead of Max Verstappen.

Piastri’s next out-lap was threatened by yellow flags in Sector 3, before coming to a complete end when a Red Flag was declared.

When he was finally permitted to resume the session, the Australian noted that earlier sprinkling of rain had increased during the delay — a sentiment echoed by Lewis Hamilton, who declared the track more slippery than before. 

Piastri backed out of his first attempt, allowing Verstappen to get the jump on him, before he launched for a final effort, improving but not enough to hold onto P1 as the chequered flag waved.

Believing that a Q3 appearance was on the cards, Liam Lawson’s first task was escaping the clutches of a bottom-five finish in Q1.

The Racing Bulls driver was one of the last to record his first attempt, setting a time of 1:26.606s to move into a nervous P12. 

When a Red Flag struck the circuit with seven minutes on the clock, Lawson had slipped down the order, and the amplified weather conditions made his task of improving all the more difficult.

Setting off for his final run, the Kiwi was let down by a lack of grip as he rounded Stowe.

Having dipped a wheel into the gravel on entry to Turn 15, Lawson struggled to save his VCARB 02 from sliding across the kerbs, costing him critical time as he crossed the line. 

With a fastest time of 1:26.044s, a place in Q2 was just one-tenth out of reach for the #30, with Lawson knocked out in the opening stage of Qualifying and forced to start the British Grand Prix from P16.

The remaining 14 drivers accompanied the early starters after four minutes of hesitancy, with the first round of flying laps seeing the Australian lead the early charge ahead of Red Bull’s unsatisfied driver and the outlier of Fernando Alonso in third fastest. 

At the other end of the spectrum, Gabriel Bortoleto’s repaired Sauber challenger sat just five-hundredths shy of safety in P16, with Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg and the two Alpines joining him in the provisional bottom five.

It was the #43 Alpine that caused quite the stir after losing traction across the kerbs at the final corner, with Franco Colapinto spinning across the circuit and into the barriers.

Colapinto kept his car running and attempted to make his way back on track before succumbing to the damage from the incident, retiring at the end of the pit exit, which prompted a Red Flag. 

With weather conditions worsening, the session resumed with seven minutes on the clock.

Needing to counter his 10-place grid penalty for a Red Flag infringement during FP3, Ollie Bearman lit up the timesheets through the middle sector, jumping into the top three while his engine supplier, Ferrari, had a moment of panic. 

Tumbling towards the bottom five, Lewis Hamilton was instructed to return to the pitlane due to the fact that he wasn’t carrying enough fuel to complete a third run, making for an anxious wait for the home hero who slipped to P14 when the session came to a close.

Pierre Gasly was the last driver to scrape by into Q2, setting a time of 1:26.328s which held out as the Q1 cut-off time.

Not as fortunate were Lawson, Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg, who joined Colapinto in an early exit from the hour shootout.

Qualifying 2:

If the opening session proved anything, it was that every lap counted in the face of driver error and Mother Nature impacting the ideal run plan.

As a result, the field was quick to follow Verstappen’s lead as he exited the pitlane when the light went green to start Q2.

Already a tenth quicker than he was in Q1, Verstappen lit up the timesheets from the very first sector of his first attempt, crossing the line with a time of 1:25.316s despite ending the lap saying “the gear didn’t go in”.

Piastri exactly matched Verstappen’s benchmark, forced to sit in P2 as he completed the run after the Dutchman, before his McLaren teammate demoted the entire field. 

Following a brief reset in the garage, Piastri joined the rest of the field as they filed out of the pitlane for his second and final attempt — keeping an eye on the cheeky tactics other teams were employing as he formed the queue in the fast lane. 

The Australian didn’t improve on his last run, instead advancing to the top ten shootout in P5 with his original time of 1:25.316s holding out. 

Lando Norris led the early Q2 timesheets with a benchmark of 1:25.231s, leading a top three separated by just 0.085s, while Ferrari’s threatening pace had seemingly disappeared.

Both Hamilton and Leclerc found themselves in serious danger of a Q2 exit, sitting in P11 and P13, respectively, after the first round of flying laps had been recorded.

Joining the stressed duo in the bottom five was Kimi Antonelli, who added himself to the highlights reel for an unfortunate reason when he blocked Fernando Alonso, along with Gasly and the second-running Red Bull driver of Yuki Tsunoda. 

A brief lull fell over the circuit before the track roared to life for one final run in Q2, with the outliers in the elimination zone driving for survival at Silverstone.

Ferrari was able to breathe a sigh of relief as Leclerc shot to the top of the order, with Hamilton soon claiming the fastest lap after setting the fastest opening sector on his run.

The same couldn’t be said for Tsunoda, who only managed to set the tenth fastest time as one of the first drivers on track.

The Red Bull pit wall’s anxiety soon shifted to disappointment when the Japanese driver was inevitably knocked into the bottom five, replaced by the unrelenting #10 Alpine who secured the final spot in the top ten.

Also bowing out in Q2 were both Williams drivers, with Alex Albon describing his FW47 as a completely different car as he finished the session as the second slowest driver, with Carlos Sainz knocked out in P11. 

Isack Hadjar and Esteban Ocon were also out of their cockpits after the chequered flag, forced to watch the extremely tight fight for pole position from the media pen. 

Qualifying 3:

The first fight of Q3 came in the pitlane, where all remaining drivers reacted to the green light and tussled for position out of their garages.

Putting a “pretty marginal” moment of his own behind him, Piastri then put his visor down for his first attempt at securing pole position.

The Australian charged through the lap, setting three fastest sectors on his way to the top of the order, where he secured provisional pole with a time of 1:24.995s despite a heavy run across the kerbs at Stowe.

Norris, who also made an error at Turn 3, initially joined his teammate on the provisional front row, however, Hamilton soon split the McLaren duo as he moved into P2.

Despite declaring his car “difficult”, Verstappen’s first run in Q3 saw him sitting in P4, just 0.025s ahead of the second-running Ferrari.

With three minutes on the clock, the all-important final out-laps kicked off. 

Exiting the pitlane behind his teammate, Piastri was carrying minor floor damage from his moment at the exit of Turn 15 as he began working temperature into his tyres.

Norris failed to impress as he flew past his personal grandstand at Turn 15, shaving a tenth off his previous run to fall in line behind Piastri’s opening attempt.

The #81 was on the ball as he launched through Sector 1, going purple before Hamilton stole that accolade — however, individual errors from both drivers soon left them vulnerable and out of the fight for pole position. 

The Australian fell off through the middle sector before a messy final corner left his original “mega” lap his fastest in Q3, while Hamilton kicked up dust coming into Turn 16, ruining his ability to maximise his Ferrari’s pace.

Not putting a wheel wrong on his last-ditch effort, Verstappen opened his lap with two blistering sectors.

The Dutchman may have failed to improve in the final sector, however, it couldn’t cancel out his major efforts through the first 14 corners when he shot to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:24.892s, securing pole position by one-tenth ahead of the McLaren duo.

Making it three Mercedes-powered cars in the top four, George Russell had a quiet session but ended the hour with a solid P4 result, while his teammate tracked as the seventh-fastest driver.

Due to his three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Verstappen in Austria, however, Antonelli will start in P10.

With Ferrari not matching expectations, the seven-time world champion was forced to settle for a fifth-place start ahead of tomorrow’s 52-lap race, setting a time just 0.026s ahead of Leclerc who will join him on Row 3.

Bearman drove a standout qualifying session and took the chequered flag in P8, however, similar to the Mercedes rookie, he will serve a ten-place grid penalty for his first home race.

As a result, Bearman will drop to P18, promoting Alonso and Gasly one position higher, while Carlos Sainz joins the pair in the top ten.

The threat of rain increases for Sunday’s running, adding just another element of interest to a race that could already see anyone standing on the top step of the podium come the chequered flag at Silverstone. 

Lights out for the British Grand Prix will take place at 00:00 AEST on Monday.

Image: Andy Hone/LAT Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

British GP Qualifying Results:

2025 British Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, July 04:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, July 05:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, July 06:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Monday, July 07:

Race: 00:00

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