Formula 1

British GP: Verstappen denies Norris pole in dramatic qualifying

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Max Verstappen denied Lando Norris pole position at his home race in a dramatic qualifying at the British Grand Prix.

The Dutchman hadn't looked particularly competitive as weather, red flags and track limits presented multiple challenges for the teams and drivers.

But when everything stabilised in Q3, Verstappen showed the speed of the RB19 as McLaren emerged as Red Bull's closest competition at Silverstone.

Q1

Damp conditions led to a mix of tyres at the start of Q1 with some opting for soft tyres and others intermediates.

The slicks proved the right call but a spin for Lewis Hamilton at Stowe proved how tricky the situation was for the drivers.

The final sector proved the main trouble area as multiple drivers ran wide and lost lap times for track limits.

One driver impacted was Alex Albon, who, despite finishing in the top three in all practice sessions, sat bottom of the standings late on.

Kevin Magnussen was the first confirmed elimination after his Haas came to a halt exiting Stowe causing a red flag with three minutes to go.

The two Alfa Romeos and two Williams' were the drivers under pressure to improve, while Sergio Perez was also at risk in 14th place when Q1 was paused.

During the red flag, Verstappen damaged the front wing exiting his garage.

When the session resumed, there was chaos as drivers raced and battled to start their final lap before the chequered flag.

Each lap was vital as the track continued to improve with Lando Norris ending Q1 fastest for McLaren.

The two Williams' improved to avoid elimination, but there was trouble at Alfa as Zhou Guanyu missed out in 18th, and teammate Valtteri Bottas stopped on track at Luffield during his in-lap after finishing 11th.

Perez was the biggest casualty in 16th, the fifth race in a row the Mexican has failed to reach Q3.

Joining him were the two AlphaTauris with Yuki Tsunoda in 17th, and Nyck De Vries in 19th.

Q2

The threat of more rain forced the drivers straight out in Q2 with Norris going fastest by half a second after the initial runs.

Verstappen finally unleashed some of Red Bull's pace to displace the Briton with Oscar Piastri improving to P2.

In the bottom five, Nico Hulkenberg claimed the unwanted P11 ahead of Lance Stroll in 12th.

Esteban Ocon was disappointed in 13th and Logan Sargeant 14th after having several lap times deleted for track limits.

Bottas didn't participate after coming to a stop at the end of Q1.

Q3

Verstappen led Hamilton by six-tenths after the first runs but was the only driver to use fresh soft tyres compared to the rest on used.

Lando Norris sent Silverstone wild when he beat the Red Bull on his second lap. But hopes of a second career pole were short-lived as Verstappen improved to re-take P1 with a 1m26.720s.

Piastri confirmed McLaren's pace in third ahead of the two Ferraris as Charles Leclerc led Carlos Sainz by just 0.012s.

George Russell took sixth while Hamilton dropped five places to seventh in the second Mercedes.

Alex Albon was disappointed with P8 for Williams, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

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