Qualifying report
Formula 1 British GP
F1 British GP: Max Verstappen usurps McLarens to take stunning pole
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen saw off both McLarens as well as home hopefuls Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to take pole position at the British Grand Prix
Mark Mann-Bryans
Edited: Jul 5, 2025, 3:53 PM
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Max Verstappen stormed to a surprise British Grand Prix pole position with a stunning final lap that was enough to beat both McLarens at Silverstone.
With Ferrari – Lewis Hamilton in particular – seeming the most likely to challenge Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, it was instead reigning world champion Verstappen who put in a final lap of 1m24.892s to snatch top spot.
Championship leader Piastri will start on the front row after a small error on his last effort. Norris was the top of the home favourites but only able to go third-fastest for McLaren, with an all-British second row as Geroge Russell was fourth for Mercedes.
Ferrari had threatened to steal McLaren’s thunder following a strong start to the weekend, but Hamilton could only manage fifth due to a scrappy final sector on his last flying lap, while the sister Ferrari of Charles Leclerc will start alongside.
Rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman were next up, but both have penalties for the race, with Antonelli dropping three places following his crash into Verstappen in Austria last week, while Bearman was hit with a 10-place penalty for the second time this season due to a red-flag infringement in Q1.
Fernando Alonso took ninth for Aston Martin but will be pleased to start seventh, alongside the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
Ferrari looked in minor peril towards the end of Q2 but had saved a fresh set of tyres for both drivers, who delivered under the pressure of one lap, Hamilton just pipping Leclerc for the fastest time.
It was not to be for Williams, however, with Carlos Sainz coming home 11th and Alex Albon 14th, while the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls were knocked out too – although the penalties for Antonelli and Bearman at least boost some further up the grid.
With continuing question marks of Franco Colapinto’s seat at Alpine, the last thing the Argentinian needed was to crash out in Q1 to end his qualifying prematurely – especially with Gasly’s performance on the other side of the garage.
Having spun off at the final corner, he initially kept the car running and got back on track after minimal contact with the wall, but – as Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore put his head in his hands – the red flag was brought out as Colapinto’s car came to a halt and required rescue.
The others to be eliminated in Q1 were Liam Lawson, who ran wide in his Racing Bulls on his final flying lap, while Lance Stroll was sandwiched between the Saubers of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.
F1 British GP - Q3 results
Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info
1
-
4
Main Information Additional Data
1
-
2
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1
Red Bull Red Bull 6
1'24.892
S 249.818 2 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 6
+0.103
1'24.995
0.103 S 249.515 3 L. Norris McLaren 4
McLaren Mercedes 6
+0.118
1'25.010
0.015 S 249.471 4 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 6
+0.137
1'25.029
0.019 S 249.416 5 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 6
+0.203
1'25.095
0.066 S 249.222 6 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 6
+0.229
1'25.121
0.026 S 249.146 7
A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 Mercedes Mercedes 6
+0.482
1'25.374
0.253 S 248.408 8 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 6
+0.579
1'25.471
0.097 S 248.126 9 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Mercedes 6
+0.729
1'25.621
0.150 S 247.691 10 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Renault 6
+0.893
1'25.785
0.164 S 247.218 View full results
Photos from British GP - Practice & Qualifying
2025 British Grand Prix - Saturday
2025 British Grand Prix - Saturday
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