George Russell on pole, Red Bull twice in the gravel

The weather: It had been raining in Silverstone since early in the morning. It cleared up just before qualifying. With air temperatures of just 13 degrees and track temperatures of 22 degrees, it was clear that qualifying would be a question of tire choice and track position on drying asphalt, at least in the first segment. More rain at the end of the day was not out of the question.

Q1 in Silverstone: Perez parks Red Bull in the Copse gravel

In Q1, almost everyone started on intermediates, although a dry line began to form immediately. Haas observed this and decided to wait a little longer. Kevin Magnussen only came on intermediates after seven minutes. One minute later, Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas were the first drivers to put on soft slicks. They started a wave of changes in the following laps.

As soon as everyone started their fast laps, drizzle spread across the track between Luffield and Copse. Max Verstappen, the second Red Bull, also had a scary moment in Copse and crashed through the gravel. But it was only wet at the very back of the track. Several slick laps were possible. So Verstappen’s mistake had no consequences and he was able to save himself in P11.

Mercedes and Ferrari set the tone at the front. Lando Norris also struggled with mistakes and only finished 13th. Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon were eliminated on pace. There was also the out-of-control Perez and Pierre Gasly, who would have started from the back anyway due to an engine penalty and therefore did not risk much. Nico Hülkenberg only just managed to save himself in P15.

Q2 in Silverstone: Leclerc flies out, Verstappen struggles with damage

The recent shower had passed. Race control declared normal grip conditions and enabled DRS. Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren initially drove with used tires. At Red Bull, concerns were growing – they suspected significant underbody damage after Verstappen’s ride at the end of Q1. Relevant because he had received the only version of a slightly modified new underbody in Silverstone. What that means for the race remains to be seen.

At the front, Norris set the tone at the finish with a lead of one and a half tenths over Russell. Fernando Alonso shone with a third place, while team-mate Lance Stroll just managed to save himself in tenth place as the clock ran out. In doing so, he kicked out Charles Leclerc – another disastrous qualifying in mixed conditions for him. Carlos Sainz managed P7.

Verstappen was the only driver from the top teams to use two sets of soft tires. He was briefly below the line at the end, but still managed to finish sixth. Along with Leclerc, Logan Sargeant, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardo were eliminated.

Q3 in Silverstone: Russell beats Hamilton in showdown

The first exchange of blows was an all-British one. George Russell set a time of 1:26.024, but was only 6 thousandths faster than Norris and 0.172 seconds faster than Hamilton. Oscar Piastri pushed Verstappen – who had also slipped far onto the kerb in Chapel – back to fifth place in the first attempt. Even Hülkenberg, only 51 thousandths behind, seemed capable of posing a threat to the Red Bull.

Everyone was running tight on time. This caught Sainz, Piastri and Alonso off guard, who got stuck behind Russell and had to make their last attempts in formation. This was irrelevant for the pole contenders. But Norris couldn’t get the last shot right, even broke off and was stuck in third place.

The Mercedes fought it out for pole position. Russell found another two tenths, and he needed them. He beat Hamilton by 0.171. Verstappen managed to salvage fourth place and will start alongside Lando Norris. Behind him, Hülkenberg was the best driver with a Ferrari engine, ahead of Sainz, Stroll, Albon and Alonso.