A lively British GP qualifying session ended up with Max Verstappen claiming a fifth consecutive pole position for Red Bull - but he was pushed all the way by a brilliant effort from McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The papaya pair were in impressive form at Silverstone to finish ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton next followed by another strong effort from Williams' Alex Albon in eighth.
But there was dismay for Sergio Perez, who failed to make the first cut at the end of Q1 meaning he will start from 16th on the grid for tomorrow's race. There were also technical problems for Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas and Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
After a rain-hit final practice in which Ferrari's Charles Leclerc bounced back from missing all of FP2 on Friday, and Alex Albon once again shone in the gloom by taking second place for Williams, it was time to get serious with qualifying for the British Grand Prix. The weather at Silverstone remained the focus of attention, with the rain having stopped since FP3 but the circuit nonetheless remaining damp - and the chance of more rain put at 100 per cent by the FIA forecast systems.
Q1: Norris tops frantic final scramble after red flag, Perez misses the cut
Mercedes driver George Russell was at the head of a lengthy queue of cars waiting to get straight out onto the track and beat any incoming rain. He was on the soft tyres as was his team mate Lewis Hamilton but others including Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were trying out the intermediates. The outlap alone was enough to persuade them that it was the wrong call, and they quickly dived back onto pit lane for a rapid change of heart.
Russell set the first time of the session with a lap of 1:35.257s but Hamilton was less fortunate, going for a spin into the gravel at Stowe. Max Verstappen soon took charge of the timings with a lap of 1:33.535s, but Russell improved with his next run to bring him within 0.245s of the Red Bull. The times continued to fall, with Aston Martin next to jump to the top with Fernando Alonso's 1:31.437s putting him over a second clear of team mate Lance Stroll. Verstappen's next run succeeded in splitting the two Astons, ahead of a healthy initial showing from AlphaTauri pair Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda.
Hamilton gathered himself up after his early scare and slotted into sixth place with his next run. Russell also improved to go top with a time of 1:31.414s ahead of Alonso and Leclerc, with Verstappen fourth ahead of Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Carlos Sainz. Those looking at risk of elimination included the two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg; Sergio Perez was also struggling to get a time on the board and lingered at the bottom until finally finding some speed, but it was still only good enough for P12 with seven minutes remaining. Likewise finding the conditions difficult were the Williams of Albon and Logan Sargeant, who had previously dazzled in the dry.
Meanwhile Verstappen was back on top with a time of 1:30.719s putting him just ahead of Alonso and Leclerc. With reports of more rain, time was running out: Albon looked like he was safe in P12 but his best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Stowe leaving him dead last, as Sargeant also went wayward and bounced over the grass. There was drama in pit lane, too, as de Vries was released into the path of Oscar Piastri, an incident that will be looked at by the race stewards after the session as will an incident where Esteban Ocon came close to hitting a slow moving Alfa Romeo. Even Verstappen was not immune to the odd mishap, understeering out of his garage and breaking his front wing on the pit wall opposite.
With a little over three minutes remaining, the red flags were out after Magnussen pulled over at the side of the track after everything switched off in the VF-23. The Haas was one of the five cars provisionally eliminated at this point, together with the Alfas of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas and both Williams of Sargeant and Albon. However, the session was able to resume and the track still dry enough for slicks, meaning everyone had one last chance to save themselves.
There was a white knuckle moment for old rivals Verstappen and Hamilton with the Red Bull impatiently trying to get ahead of the Mercedes, before the times started coming up on the screen. Albon had taken immediate advantage of the opportunity and vaulted to safety - and to the top, even. But others were also improving with Lando Norris going top with 1:28.917s ahead of Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton, pushing Verstappen to fifth ahead of Stroll. Albon's time remained good enough to hold on to seventh followed by Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.
Someone was going to miss out at the end of this frantic game of musical chairs and it proved to be Sergio Perez, with the Red Bull missing the cut by 0.019s. He was joined on the bench by Tsunoda, Zhou and de Vries, together with the immobile Magnussen - and also by Bottas, who had made the cut but whose car had come to a stop at turn 7 triggering a yellow flag after the end of the round. The Finn will line up for tomorrow's race in 15th place on the grid, one spot ahead of Perez.
Q2: Verstappen pips Piastri and Norris as Hulkenberg, Stroll and Ocon miss out
Despite heavy clouds overhead, the prediction was for no further rain and the drivers headed out on slick tyres onto a drying albeit still slippery track, with DRS still not enabled for the session. Stroll led the cars out with Alonso close behind, and a brief Aston 1-2 at the top was soon swept aside as a flurry of better times came in. Norris came out on top with a time of 1:29.427s which was a tenth quicker than both Gasly and Verstappen, with Piastri slotting in to fourth ahead of Sainz, Ocon, Russell and Leclerc.
Hamilton found himself on the bubble in tenth while Alonso and Stroll had been pushed down into the drop zone along with Albon and Sargeant. But a second run by the Astons saw Alonso go top again on 1:29.052s with Albon also finding a spring in his step to go second ahead of Leclerc and Sainz. Norris was thereby pushed down to fifth all of which meant Hamilton was now at serious risk in P12, and Russell little better on the bubble in P10.
Verstappen had been complaining about tyre vibration but his next run nonetheless saw him jump from seventh to the top - but only briefly before Piastri went three thousandths quicker to take top honours. Hamilton then brought the grandstands to life by going quicker still to go top on 1:28.545s, with Russell also improving to fourth. The home crowd had yet more reason to cheer when Norris reclaimed the top spot with a time of 1:28.042, half a second clear of Hamilton and the rest, showing there was still more time to be found on the improving track.
It all came down to the timing of the final push lap, and not making any mistakes when it mattered. Leclerc failed to topple Norris after a close encounter with an Alpine in the final corner, and Albon was also 0.025s short of the McLaren but still ahead of both Ferraris. But in the end, and with a certain air of predictability, it was Verstappen who took the top spot with Piastri slipping into second ahead of his team mate at the last minute.
The big scramble was over the final transfer positions: Alonso and Hamilton were both safe in seventh and eighth, and Gasly put in a final lunge to make it to ninth leaving Russell back on the bubble - but crucially still through. Hulkenberg missed the cut despite a final lap putting him ahead of Stroll and Ocon, leaving Sargeant last after having early flying laps deleted for track limit infractions.
Q3: Verstappen takes pole ahead of spirited effort from McLaren's Norris and Piastri
The threat of further rain had abated and the sun was making a cameo appearance over Silverstone as the remaining ten drivers headed back out on track for the final top ten pole shoot-out, meaning that race control declared normal grip conditions and finally enabled DRS. George Russell was the first man to post a time, but his lap was soon bettered by Hamilton with 1:27.717s; and then of course by Verstappen, wiping the floor with everyone and going six tenths quicker still.
There was an impressive run for Piastri going third despite running wide at Chapel, putting him ahead of Leclerc and Sainz with Alonso initially sixth ahead of Albon, Gasly, Russell and Norris. But after a short hiatus back on pit lane, the drivers returned to the track for one last push and it was clear that there was still more time to be found from the drying track as it rubbered back in.
Leclerc jumped to second within 0.052s of Verstappen's time with Sainz almost matching him. There was a big improvement from Russell putting him ahead of Hamilton, and then the crowds erupted with joy as Norris took provisional pole - and then groaned with dismay seconds later as Verstappen posted a new effort of 1:26.720s to secure the top spot and spoil the moment for the Brits.
McLaren were still celebrating, however, especially when Piastri crossed the line to claim third ahead of Leclerc and Sainz, pushing Russell and Hamilton down to sixth and seventh. Albon also did about the best that Williams could have been hoping for, taking P8 on the grid ahead of Alonso and Gasly.
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