21 degrees, a moderate breeze and, above all, repeated rain: an ordinary English summer’s day in Silverstone framed the qualifying for the British Grand Prix, from which Max Verstappen once again emerged as the winner. For the fifth time in a row, the world champion raced to pole position in 1:26:720 minutes on Sunday (4 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky). Such a series had never been successful before. “A crazy qualifying, it was hectic and very slippery in places,” said Verstappen. “But we did a very good lap. But I was very surprised to see these guys up front.”
He pointed to the McLaren drivers, who surprisingly raced to second and third place. Local hero Lando Norris finished ahead of Oscar Piastri. “That’s pretty crazy,” Norris said. “Great for me, great for the team.” He jokingly mourned the loss of pole position by 0.241 seconds. “Typical Max,” said the Brit, “he always ruins everything.” Norris had not qualified so far up the field since his pole position in Russia in 2021. The Rhinelander Nico Hülkenberg made it to eleventh place.
Hamilton im Kiesbett
By midday there had been intermittent showers in Northamptonshire, but by the time the time chase began it was dry enough for the slick tyres. Or not? Lewis Hamilton spun off the track during his first attempt at a fast lap. In the Stowe curve, the local hero lost his rear end and slid into the gravel bed. Lucky in disguise for the record world champion, who regained momentum and found his way back onto the track.
Seven minutes before the end of the first round, it was dripping again on the racecourse, which is located on the site of a former military airfield. “It’s raining everywhere here right now,” radioed Mercedes driver George Russell. That was ominous for those who were in the bottom five at the time. It is hardly possible to improve on a wet slope. With three minutes left on the clock, qualifying was stopped. Kevin Magnussen’s Haas-Ferrari went on strike from now on. “Everything is gone,” reported the Dane. Magnussen came to a standstill a few meters from the entrance to the pit lane. The tow truck arrived. This resulted in a forced ten-minute break, the rain cleared and the track dried out.
Verstappen drives into the wall
The conditions were now better than at the beginning. This meant that all pilots had to go out again in order not to fall out of the classification. The field lined up in the pit lane, Max Verstappen also wanted to queue, but was in too much of a hurry. Driving out of the garage, he steered his Red Bull into the wall. “I had understeer,” he radioed. The front wing was in tatters, a new one was needed. No big deal actually. But the world champion was very lucky in a dramatic finale.
He started his crucial fast lap just in time. If he had crossed the finish line seven seconds later, he would not have dared to try again. That would have meant the end. This happened again to Sergio Pérez. Verstappen’s team-mate was out of action again, dropped out in 16th place and missed the second part of qualifying for the fifth time in a row.
What a disaster for the Mexican. The contrasts at Red Bull could not be greater. Pérez will have to chase the field again on Sunday, so he won’t be able to help his team-mate at the front for the time being. In addition to Pérez, Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), Guyanu Zhou (Sauber), Nyck de Vries (Alpha Tauri), and Kevin Magnussen also failed in the first period.
Dramatic Finale
Conflicting messages then at the beginning of the second section. “The rain is coming, the rain is coming!” Nico Hulkenberg was warned. While Lando Norris got the info, “It’s not going to rain now.” The truth lay in between. In bright sunshine it was drizzling over the Silverstone Circuit, but the drivers were circling in slick Pirellis. Nico Hülkenberg finally missed the final run by 0.114 seconds, which was missing for Mercedes driver George Russell. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) were also eliminated.
Then the final. The ten fastest drivers fought for pole position. Lewis Hamilton presented: 1: 27.717 minutes. A time that pulverized Max Verstappen. In 1:27.084 minutes, he was initially 0.633 seconds faster. There are worlds between Red Bull and the competition. Oscar Piastri set an exclamation point with a time of 1:27.756 minutes, which was initially enough for third place. The elite pilots had zeroed in and were getting ready for the all-important attempt.
A few moments before the end it looked like a sensational winner. Lando Norris catapulted himself into first place in 1:26:961 minutes. Cheers erupted in the stands. A Brit at the front at Silverstone? Oh no. Max Verstappen came “and ruined everything”. The Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc in front of Carlos Sainz, finished fourth and fifth. George Russell finished sixth in the Mercedes, ahead of teammate Hamilton. Old champion Fernando Alonso finished ninth in the Aston Martin.
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Pole position is not necessarily a good omen for Verstappen: the only time the Dutchman was at the front at Silverstone was in 2021. He didn’t get too far in the race: during the first lap he bumped into Tempo in the famous Copse corner 265 teamed with Lewis Hamilton, spinning into the gang and retiring while his accident opponent raced to victory.
