Qualifying Report - Verstappen takes Silverstone pole

By Peter Habicht Max Verstappen won pole at the Silverstone Circuit for Red Bull as the upgraded McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took second and third fastest, besting the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as well as the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Williams Alex Albon qualified eighth, followed by the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Alpine of Pierre Gasly. Mixed to drying conditions throughout the session made for several surprises catching teams out while creating opportunity for others as Sergio Perez would discover while waiting for the track to clear in Q1. With 3:11 left in the round after Kevin Magnussen’s Haas was cleared after stopping on track, Perez rejoined the circuit but failed to get heat in his tires after waiting in pitlane on cooling rubber and ran out of time to complete a lap with necessary grip. This is the fifth race in a row where Perez has failed to make it to the top ten in qualifying. Also knocked out in the first round were Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou and Alpha Tauri’s Nyck de Vries. Valttieri Bottas parked his Alfa Romeo at the end of the round with a loss of drive, while Williams’s Logan Sargeant pushed through to the second round to end up qualifying 14th after a lap time had been deleted for exceeding track limits. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Aston’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon will take the 11th-13th places on the grid, the latter two having gotten entwined on their approach to hot laps late in the round. McLaren CEO Zak Brown shared his enthusiasm for the team’s result: “I felt really good we’d be strong in Q3, and thought maybe sixth, seventh, fifth, but to be second and third? No, I wasn’t expecting that so hopefully they’ll surprise me again tomorrow.” The British GP starts at 3pm tomorrow.