Verstappen snatches British GP pole with late flying lap, pushing Piastri aside

SILVERSTONE, July 6 — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen delivered a perfectly timed final lap to snatch pole position for the British Grand Prix yesterday, edging out McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri, who will start alongside him on the front row.

Crowd favourite Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate and closest title challenger, qualified third.

Mercedes’ George Russell secured fourth on the grid, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton — last year’s winner and a record nine-time victor at Silverstone — will line up fifth in his first British GP wearing Ferrari red.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start sixth, with just two-tenths of a second separating the top five on a cool, windy afternoon at Silverstone.

“It was tricky out there with the wind shifting all over,” said Verstappen, who claimed his fourth pole of the season and first since the Miami Grand Prix in May. “These cars are super sensitive to wind. That final lap was just enough. This is a real track — in qualifying, you have to push flat out. It’s so rewarding.”

Verstappen sits third in the drivers’ standings, 61 points behind Piastri and 15 behind Norris, as he looks for his third win of the season after a disappointing DNF in Austria.

The Dutchman was fastest in Q1, with Piastri close behind. Hamilton then topped the timesheets in Q2 and looked on course to potentially take his first pole since Hungary 2023. However, Piastri claimed provisional pole with his initial flying lap before Verstappen clocked 1:24.892 — 0.103s quicker. Norris missed out on second by just 0.015s.

“The first lap was mega,” said Piastri. “I was thinking how I could improve, but I didn’t manage to. The last lap was a bit messy, but it’s been tight all weekend.”

Norris added, “It’s been about fine margins today. Tomorrow should be exciting — I think we’ll see a great battle between the three of us, and maybe more with Lewis, Charles, and George in the mix.”

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but will drop three places on the grid due to a penalty from Austria, where he collided with Verstappen on the opening lap.

That would have promoted Oliver Bearman’s Haas to seventh, but the British driver received a 10-place grid penalty for ignoring red flags during final practice.

As a result, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will start seventh, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly eighth, Carlos Sainz ninth for Williams, and Antonelli rounding out the top ten.

Franco Colapinto brought out red flags in Q1 after spinning into the gravel in a cloud of tyre smoke and dust. “I lost the rear — probably hit a bump or something,” said the Argentine. Though he managed to get the car moving again, he had to stop before reaching the pits. The session was paused for barrier repairs and debris clearance.

Both Sauber cars, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were also eliminated in the first qualifying phase. — Reuters