SILVERSTONE, UK — McLaren wasn’t quite untouchable throughout qualifying for the British Grand Prix, as Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc set the top two fastest laps in Q2 and the seven-time world champion sat within reach early in Q3. But it was Max Verstappen who shot past all with the session’s final lap to claim another surprise pole position for Red Bull.
Hamilton’s first flying lap in Q3 split the McLarens, with a 0.135-second gap to provisional pole sitter Oscar Piastri, while Lando Norris wasn’t much further behind the Ferrari driver. Hamilton is a nine-time winner at Silverstone Circuit, but for Sunday, he’ll line up fifth, alongside Leclerc, for his home grand prix.
Once the first flying laps finished, the gap between the top five and bottom five was notable, as a 0.351-second gap separated provisional fifth-place runner Leclerc and George Russell. Given the cooler temperatures, one may have assumed Mercedes would thrive in these conditions, as it usually suits the Silver Arrows squad’s car. Up until the final flying laps, Russell and Kimi Antonelli didn’t exactly wow with their performances, although Russell was using the slower soft tires on this first Q3 lap.
As the clock ticked away, it felt like qualifying could go either way on the second runs. Piastri and Norris were separated by 0.015 seconds, but Hamilton and Leclerc were still coming. But when the Ferrari drivers couldn’t beat the McLarens’ times, it looked like it would be another 1-2 start for Piastri and Norris, with the Briton failing to gain enough to topple his teammate from provisional pole. And then came Verstappen.
The world champion ultimately beat Piastri’s time by 0.103 seconds. Given that he’d made complaints about the handling of his car, this pole position represents a shock result against the season’s run, albeit with the caveat that Silverstone has many high-speed corners that suit the Red Bull car.
Further back, Ollie Bearman qualified eighth for his home grand prix but faces a 10-place grid penalty for failing to comply with the red flag during FP3 (when he crashed pushing too hard at the pit entry at the end of final practice). And he’s not the only driver with a grid drop for Sunday’s race. Antonelli received a three-place penalty last weekend during the Austrian Grand Prix for his collision with Verstappen.
Antonelli took seventh in Q3, with Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10 for Aston Martin and Alpine.
Q2: Sainz, Tsunoda, Hadjar, Albon and Ocon eliminated
Verstappen and Piastri’s first Q2 laps were rare dead heats, with both setting a 1:25.316. But it didn’t take long for Norris to top that by 0.0085 seconds. The rest of the grid was further back at this stage, Russell 0.406 seconds off in fourth.
With seven minutes to go in Q2, the Ferrari drivers, Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Antonelli sat in the drop zone, while both Haas drivers were ninth and 10th fastest on the timesheets. And Haas wasn’t the only midfield team with both drivers provisionally in the top 10. Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon sat sixth and seventh, above Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar. Williams and Racing Bulls are separated by 19 points in the constructor standings heading into the British GP.
Bearman’s final lap rocketed him to a provisional fourth, but he shuffled down the order to sixth as Q2 ended. The Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Leclerc launched them to a 1-2 with Hamilton leading Leclerc by 0.049 seconds.
However, the red cars were the only frontrunning cars using new tires at this stage, as track conditions were changing rapidly following earlier drops of rain.
Behind Ferrari’s gain, Antonelli managed to save his qualifying, as did Gasly, on the final laps. The gap for the cutoff was just 0.035 seconds, which ultimately separated Gasly and Sainz. Tsunoda continued his streak of missing Q3 as he ended up 12th, ahead of Hadjar, Albon, and Esteban Ocon.
Franco Colapinto didn’t finish Q1. (Clive Rose / Getty Images)
Q1: Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, Hülkenberg and Colapinto knocked out
Gloomy clouds hung over Silverstone as qualifying began. Piastri nailed his first lap, three-hundredths of a second faster than Verstappen’s first time and 0.163 seconds ahead of Norris. Alonso was the biggest surprise from the early runs, setting the third-fastest time with 6:49 to go.
But the session didn’t stay clean and smooth. Franco Colapinto triggered a red flag after he spun into the wall at the final corner. He briefly resumed driving but soon pulled off, due to damage to his car.
It comes at a time when the Argentine driver is under scrutiny and his F1 future is in doubt. Alpine is in the process of determining its 2026 driver lineup, and all options are possible. Colapinto needs clean weekends to stay in the seat, but now, he’s qualified P20 for what is effectively Alpine’s home race with its factory in Enstone so close to Silverstone. This is Colapinto’s third Q1 elimination in six races, a similar record to Jack Doohan (who he replaced). Gasly, meanwhile, has made seven Q3s in 2025, while Alpine still sits last in the constructors’ standings.
At the time of the red flag, Piastri, Verstappen and Alonso made up the Q1 top three, while Gabriel Bortoleto, Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg, Colapinto and Gasly sat in the drop zone. The margins were super fine, with the top 10 being covered by less than four-tenths of a second, and the gap to the cutoff was just 0.053 seconds.
As the action resumed, Piastri reported a few more drops of rain falling in the pit lane, adding it “might be worse than before.” Yet the lap times continued to improve. Sainz set a flying lap that was enough to put him eighth fastest with his last effort, while Gasly demoted Liam Lawson a few seconds later, which was the 15th fastest for the opening session.
How they qualified
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Lando Norris, McLaren
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
8. Ollie Bearman, Haas
9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Carlos Sainz, Williams
12. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
13. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
14. Alex Albon, Williams
15. Esteban Ocon, Haas
16. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
17. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
18. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
19. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber
20. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
(Top image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
