Verstappen holds off surprising McLaren surge for 5th straight pole
Max Verstappen stuck it on pole once again, going fastest during Saturday's qualifying session at Silverstone. As a result, he'll start Sunday's British Grand Prix from the front.
It's the fifth straight time the two-time reigning champ has taken pole position dating back to Monaco and seventh of the season through 11 attempts.
Verstappen will be joined on the front row by Lando Norris, as McLaren put together a stunning performance, qualifying second and third.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:26.720 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.241 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.372 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.416 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.428 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.435 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.491 |
| 8 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.810 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.939 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.969 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | Q2 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q2 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Q2 |
| 14 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | Q2 |
| 15 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Q1 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Q1 |
| 17 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Q1 |
| 18 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | Q1 |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Q1 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | DQ |
Norris was briefly on provisional pole near the end of Q3, but Verstappen wound up beating the Brit on his hometown circuit by over two-tenths of a second.
"We couldn't have had a better result day today, apart from Max, who ruins everything," Norris quipped to cheers in front of his home crowd.
Norris' McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, also had the best qualifying session of his young career, placing third. The rookie will start alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on the second row.
Norris was followed by fellow Brits George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, placing sixth and seventh in their Mercedes, respectively. Hamilton will be looking for his ninth career win at Silverstone.
Sainz, the 2022 British GP winner, will lead the third row alongside Russell after qualifying fifth.
It was another disappointing qualifying session for Sergio Perez. While Verstappen in the same machinery cruised to pole position, Perez failed to make it out of Q1 for the second consecutive race. The Mexican will start Sunday's race from 16th.
It was an impressive showing for Alex Albon, as he became the first Williams driver since Felipe Massa in 2016-17 to reach a third consecutive Q3, placing eighth to beat two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
Valtteri Bottas will start the race at the bottom of the pack after the Alfa Romeo driver was disqualified from qualifying post-session for failing to provide the required one-liter fuel sample. He originally sat in the 15th position after qualification but will instead start Sunday in 20th.