© Getty ImagesMax powers to epic Pole at SilverstoneA final flyer from Max takes Pole position for tomorrow’s race.
MaxdeliveredaflawlessandsupremelyfastlapatSilverstonetopowerpasttheMcLarensofOscarPiastriandLandoNorrisandclaimPolepositionfortheBritishGrandPrix.Yukiismeanwhilesettostartfromtheedgeofthetop10afterhedeliveredasolidshowinginqualifyingfortheTeam’ssecondhomerace.
After struggling with balance and battling the strong breezes at Silverstone on Friday, overnight tweaks to the set-up of the RB21 yielded an equally strong improvement for Max and Yuki on Saturday morning.
On the pace from the outset, Max jumped to an early P2, just 0.005s off early leader Charles Leclerc, and the Dutchman was able to maintain that pursuit all the way to the flag. In the end, Charles took top spot in the session with a time of 1:25.498, but Max’s final flyer yielded a time of 1:25.585, which left him third, 0.087s off Charles and just 0.019s behind second-placed Oscar.
It was a positive morning for Yuki too. With a little under 12 minutes remaining, the Japanese driver bolted on a fresh set of softs and jumped to P5, five tenths behind Lando.
With a small threat of rain in the air, the Bulls headed out on track early at the start of Q1, and Max jumped straight to the top of the timesheet with his first flyer on softs. His lap of 1:26.041 wasn’t enough to keep Oscar at bay and the Australian edged four hundredths clear, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third ahead of Lando and George Russell. Yuki’s opener was solid and his 1:26.652 put him 15th as the first runs came to a close.
Bulls headed out on track early at the start of Q1© Getty Images
Both Bulls headed back to the pits and as they were rolled back into the garage, Franco Colapinto was spinning off at the final corner. The Alpine driver got out of shape on the entry to Vale and then lost control on the left-hand kerb in Club before rotating and sliding into the gravel trap. Although he clipped the barrier, he was able to get going again, though with a loose rear wing he eventually pulled over, and with a little under seven minutes left, the red flags came out.
In the final runs, as Oscar backed out of his last lap, Max improved by four tenths of a second to 1:26.002 to take top spot ahead of the Australian. Haas’ Oliver Bearman, facing a 10-place grid penalty for failing to heed red flags in FP3, put in a strong lap to take a surprise third ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Fernando.
Yuki also found a good chunk of time on his final run, and after going almost four tenths quicker, his 1:12.275 put him through in P13.
There was no place in Q2 for Liam Lawson, however, and the VCARB driver was eliminated in P16 ahead of Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, the second Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg and Franco.
In trademark style, Max was first out on track in Q2, and the Dutchman continued his good work with a quick lap of 1:25.316. Oscar matched that exactly, but as the second driver to set the time, he slotted into P2. However, Lando was able to take the fight to the champion and the McLaren driver claimed P1 with just eight hundredths of a second in hand over Max.
Yuki, meanwhile, opened his Q2 account with a lap of 1:26.473 and he found himself at the bottom of the drop zone in P15 as the first runs ended. It was a tricky first run for Ferrari as both Lewis, in P11, and Charles, in P13, found themselves in danger. Both had done their opening laps on used tyres, but nevertheless a significant improvement was required.
As the top three went out on used tyres, Ferrari rebounded on fresh rubber and in the final runs, Lewis took top spot with a time of 1:25.084, just under five hundredths of a second ahead of Charles. Lando held third, and Max eased through to Q3 in fourth place.
For Yuki, it was a frustrating end to Q2 as the car lacked the power it needed, which kicked back in by T3. Despite this, it looked like Yuki might scrape through as he climbed to P10, but in quick succession, Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli delivered quicker laps, and Yuki exited the session in P12.
Also out at the end of Q2 were Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who qualified 11th, 13th-placed Racing Bull Isack Hadjar; Alex Albon and Haas’ Esteban Ocon.
The first runs of Q3 saw Oscar take provisional pole with a time of 1:24.995, just over a tenth ahead of Lewis as Lando slotted into third place.
Almost three tenths down on Oscar and in fourth place after the first runs, it looked like a third pole of the season would be a big ask for the Champion. But when it’s a big question, there’s no one better at delivering an emphatic answer and while both Oscar and Lando took too much kerb in the final two corners, Max kept it clean to post a super 1:24.892 and take a stunning 44th career pole, a tenth clear of Oscar and Lando.
George qualified fourth ahead of Lewis and Charles, while Kimi, facing a three-place grid penalty, finished seventh ahead of Oliver, Fernando and Pierre. Both Kimi and Oliver will drop down the grid tomorrow, and that will boost Yuki to P11 for the start.
