© Getty ImagesMax On Front Row For First Sprint QualifyingFriday's qualifying session sees the Bulls second and fifth.
MaxVerstappenwillstartF1’sfirstSprintQualifyingfromthefrontrow,aftertitlerivalLewisHamiltonedgedthechampionshipleaderoutoftopspotbyjust0.075s.
Sergio Pérez will start the 17-lap sprint from P5 after he too was denied a better position due to a track limits infringement on his final flyer that resulted in his lap time being deleted.
Giving The Fans A Showdown© Getty Images
In the opening phase of Q1 it was Max who set the pace, with the Dutchman jumping to the top of the timesheet thanks to a lap of 1:16.751, despite a nervous moment in the final corner. That put the championship leader four-tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton, with the other Merceds driver, Valtteri Bottas almost four tenths further back in third. Sergio, meanwhile, slotted into P7 with his first flyer of 1:27.788.
Max stayed in the garage for the final run, but Checo headed out for a second attempt as his P8 became P13 in the final moments of the segment. But The Mexican put in an excellent final lap of 1:27.121 to jump to P4 at the flag, just behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Hamilton also went for a final run and his 1:26.786, just 0.015s slower than Max showed that the session would be hard fought.
Eliminated at the end of Q1 were AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in P16 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and 20th-placed Nikita Mazepin.
Checo Sails Through Silverstone Q1© Getty Images
Max was again on top at the end of the opening run of Q2. Hamilton set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:26.602 but within moments Max was across the line just under a tenth clear of the Mercedes driver. Bottas lay in P3 after the first runs almost two tenths behind his Mercedes teammate, while Checo was fourth two tenths further back and asking the team whether there might be a tow he could take advantage of.
It was a boost Hamilton appeared to get in his final run of the session. The Mercedes driver slotted into the hole punched in the air by teammate Bottas and with purple times in every sector he took P1 in the segment with a time of 1:26.023. Max improved too, but he settled for P2 with a final flyer of 1:26.315.
Checo, meanwhile, chose to stay in the garage for the final run and the decision to hold on to a set of tyres proved wise as though he was leapfrogged by the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc he went through to Q3 in P6 thanks to his opening lap time.
Ruled out at the end of the middle segment though were Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in P11 ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Max Heads Out For A Flyer© Getty Images
Hamilton then took P1 in the first with a time of 1:26.134, 0.172s ahead of Max, who complained that his car was suffering from “oversteer to the moon”. That balance issue heaped pressure on the Dutchman in the final run and though Hamilton went wide in Sector 3 on his final flying lap, Max couldn’t wrestle enough time out of his RB16B on his final flying lap and he was forced to settle for P2, between the two Mercedes cars.
Checo’s final flyer put him into P4 behind Bottas but the Mexican’s time was deleted for a track limits violation in Stowe. That meant he was leapfrogged by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull driver will start the Sprint at the front of row three, in P5.
Sergio will be joined on the third row of the grid by Lando Norris. The McLaren driver took sixth place just 0.002s ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. George Russell gave Williams hope of a good starting place for Sunday’s race by claiming seventh place on the Sprint grid, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the final top-10 place was taken by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
British Grand Prix 2021: Qualifying
Max To Start Second For F1 Sprint© Getty Images
Max Congratulates Pole Man Hamilton© Getty Images
Silverstone Shines For Quali© Getty Images
Giving The Fans A Showdown© Getty Images
Great To See The British Fans Back© Getty Images
Checo Heads Over The Hill© Getty Images
Checo To Start Fifth For F1 Sprint© Getty Images
Checo Sends It On The Softs© Getty Images
Bulls Going Full Send At Silverstone© Getty Images
Bulls Set For A Weekend Charge© Getty Images
Of course I am disappointed because I wanted to start first tomorrow but we have the sprint qualifying race to decide the main grid.
“Of course I am disappointed because I wanted to start first tomorrow but we have the sprint qualifying race to decide the main grid and then Sunday as well so we will try and get them back. Overall, the car was handling quite well but we just had a lot of understeer and I couldn’t really attack the corners as I was waiting for the front to grip up. It was a bit of a weird feeling to drive and I don’t think it was set-up or front wing related, so maybe front tyres, but we will look at it and it’s nothing dramatic.
We know we have a good race car so I’m still confident for the rest of the weekend.
"To be this close is still very good for us on a track we expected Mercedes to be very strong and we know we have a good race car so I’m still confident for the rest of the weekend.”
“I ran wide into Turn 15 and my best lap time was deleted which is a bit of a shame but those are the rules and luckily I only lost one place. P4 would have been a bit better but we have the sprint race to make it further up the grid for Sunday so still there is plenty to play for. We improved the car a lot as the day went on but I found a bit of a difference in the balance at the end of Q3 and couldn’t get the most out of the car.
"I’m looking forward to tomorrow as it will be interesting to see what happens with the new sprint format and how much progress we are able to make in that race.”
BritishGrandPrixQualifyingTop10
Position | Driver | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Lewis Hamilton | Max Verstappen | Valtteri Bottas | Charles Leclerc | Sergio Pérez | Lando Norris | Daniel Ricciardo | George Russell | Carlos Sainz | Sebastian Vettel |
Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Ferrari | Red Bull Racing Honda | McLaren | McLaren | Williams | Ferrari | Aston Martin |