Max Verstappen starts the British Grand Prix on Sunday from pole position. The driver from Limburg was surprisingly the fastest in qualifying on Saturday at the Silverstone circuit, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren.
Verstappen clocked a time of 1:24.982, narrowly beating Norris and Piastri. George Russell finished fourth with the Mercedes, ahead of Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen benefits from the cooler conditions at Silverstone after Friday. In the first two practices, it was windy and warm. On Saturday, the wind has weakened slightly, and the thermometer remains at 20 degrees Celsius. Due to cloud cover, the asphalt is no warmer than 30 degrees Celsius.
Nevertheless, Verstappen surprised with pole. McLaren and Ferrari seemed favorites. In his first run in Q3, the final part of qualifying, the Dutchman was not fast enough for pole. He also complained that his car was difficult to drive.
In an ultimate attempt to his fourth pole of the year
But in the very last attempt, Verstappen secured the pole. It is his first since the Grand Prix of Miami and his fourth this season.
It wasn’t marginal either: Verstappen was ultimately a tenth faster than the McLaren drivers. Given the minimal gaps in qualifying, that was quite a significant lead. The four drivers behind Verstappen are within a tenth of each other.
The revived Ferrari was surprised by Verstappen and Russell. Hamilton and Leclerc seemed to have the speed for at least the second row of the grid but had to tolerate four drivers in front of them. At race pace, Ferrari remains a factor to be reckoned with on Sunday. With this starting grid, all the ingredients are present for a fine British Grand Prix.