F1 British GP: Hamilton tops qualifying ahead of inaugural sprint race
Lewis Hamilton will start Formula 1’s first sprint qualifying race from first place ahead of Max Verstappen, after the Mercedes driver topped Friday evening qualifying at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton led the pack after the first runs in Q3 with a 1m26.134s, with Verstappen – who had commandingly led the sole practice session on Friday – trailing and unhappy with his Red Bull understeering around Silverstone.
On the final runs, Hamilton looked set to improve the fastest time with purple sectors in the opening two thirds of the lap, but a lurid slide exiting the first part of the final sequence of Turns at Club cost him, and he did not go quicker.
But although Verstappen cut the gap to his title rival to 0.075-seconds from 0.172s after the first runs, the championship leader took second – to the delight of the packed Silverstone crowd.
Valtteri Bottas claimed third in the second Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc fourth after Sergio Perez lost his best and final lap in Q3 for running too wide out of Stowe, which shuffled the Mexican driver behind the Ferrari.
Lando Norris pipped Daniel Ricciardo to sixth, reversing the order between the McLaren team-mates through Q1 and Q2.
George Russell, Williams FW43B
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
George Russell ran an offset Q3 programme after sensationally making it through to the final segment, running solo with over four minutes on his sole run in the third part of qualifying.
His 1m26.971s was cheered all the way around by his home fans, with that time putting him ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr and Sebastian Vettel, who lost his first Q3 time for a track limits infringement at Stowe, at the end of the top 10.
In Q2, Russell’s lap jump to reach Q3 for the second race in a row knocked out Fernando Alonso, as Norris also slotted in just ahead of the Alpine driver late on and left him 11th.
Pierre Gasly took 12th ahead of Esteban Ocon, who was the only eliminated driver not to set a personal best on their final laps in the middle segment.
Antonio Giovinazzi could not reproduce his fastest time from Q1, where he was 12th, as he finished Q2 in 14th for Alfa Romeo, ahead of Lance Stroll, who did find time compared to his best lap in the opening part of the session, but not enough to gain him any places for the sprint qualifying race grid.
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In Q1, Yuki Tsunoda could not set a personal best time on his final lap in the opening segment as he wound up 16th and eliminated in the second AlphaTauri.
Kimi Raikkonen and Nicholas Latifi did set their best times on their last laps but could not find enough time for Alfa Romeo and Williams respectively, as they ended up 17th and 18th.
The Haas pair took the final two places, with Mick Schumacher leading Nikita Mazepin, who half-spun late-on in Q1 after losing the rear of his car putting the power down exiting Turn 3, Village.
All the running on Friday night took place on the soft tyres – per the rules of the sprint qualifying race weekend format – with no need to take the rubber used in Q2 to start the grand prix on Sunday.
All teams will therefore be free to pick the tyres they want to start on for both the sprint qualifying race and grand prix.
British GP qualifying result
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'26.134 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1'26.209 | 0.075 |
| 3 |  Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1'26.328 | 0.194 |
| 4 |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'26.828 | 0.694 |
| 5 |  Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1'26.844 | 0.710 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1'26.897 | 0.763 |
| 7 |  Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 1'26.899 | 0.765 |
| 8 | George Russell | Williams | 1'26.971 | 0.837 |
| 9 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'27.007 | 0.873 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 1'27.179 | 1.045 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 1'27.245 | 1.111 |
| 12 |  Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1'27.273 | 1.139 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1'27.340 | 1.206 |
| 14 |  Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1'27.617 | 1.483 |
| 15 |  Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1'27.665 | 1.531 |
| 16 |  Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1'28.043 | 1.909 |
| 17 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1'28.062 | 1.928 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1'28.254 | 2.120 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 1'28.738 | 2.604 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin | Haas | 1'29.051 | 2.917 |
| View full results | ||||
Related video
Previous article
Horner: F1 should switch to high-revving loud engines from 2025
Next article
British Grand Prix qualifying results: Hamilton takes first-ever F1 sprint pole
How We'll Know If F1's Sprint Races Worked
Virtual Onboard - Silverstone GP
Uncovering Silverstone's engineering secrets for F1 success
Formula 1 returns to Silverstone this weekend, but despite its familiarity to all the teams it is no picnic. Here are five of the key points for engineers to consider prior to the British Grand Prix
The changing faces of F1’s British GP conquerors
The British Grand Prix is where the world championship began in 1950. STUART CODLING looks at six of Formula 1's era-defining cars which have all scored memorable victories in its original race
The ‘special relationship’ Ferrari will hope to exploit at Silverstone
OPINION: Ferrari might have snubbed the very first world championship race on British soil but the Scuderia and the UK went on to enjoy some deep connections. As BEN EDWARDS explains, theirs is a shared history that is waiting for its next chapter to be written...
When driver aids have the opposite effect
They're the tools that a driver can rely on to get them out of a fix, but driver aids don't always make their lives easier. As Lewis Hamilton's accidental application of the Mercedes 'magic button' in Baku demonstrates, there can be a downside to driver aids
How Stroll plans to build Aston Martin into F1 world champions
The transformation from modest Racing Point to powerhouse Aston Martin is well underway under the stewardship of Lawrence Stroll and his healthy chequebook, all with the sole focus on one goal: becoming Formula 1 world champions
The political manoeuvring behind F1's return to British GP normality
OPINION: Formula 1 heads back to Silverstone this weekend for the 2021 British Grand Prix, where a full-capacity crowd will return after a painful absence in the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Here’s how the pieces that permitted a part of returning ‘normal’ life were arranged
The champion traits that Hamilton will draw on in Mercedes’ sternest test
Lewis Hamilton has swept all before him in recent seasons, becoming F1’s most successful driver ever. Building himself into the ultimate grand prix winning machine wasn’t the work of a moment, and the traits he has picked up along the way will prove crucial in his 2021 battle with Max Verstappen, as BEN ANDERSON explains
Why there’s far more to Russell than qualifying specialism
Forget the ridiculous ‘Mr Saturday’ tag. There’s more to George Russell than impressive qualifying statistics. This thrillingly complete young talent is driving Williams out of the doldrums even as he eyes a future at Mercedes, says LUKE SMITH
