Grand Prix qualifying results: Hamilton takes first-ever F1 sprint pole

Mercedes driver Hamilton will start the sprint qualifying race ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

The result of the sprint race, which takes place on Saturday, sets the grid for Sunday’s main event. The winner of the sprint will be awarded with the grand prix's pole position accolade.

British Grand Prix qualifying results: Hamilton on sprint pole from Verstappen

Cla	Driver		Time	Gap	km/h
1	Lewis Hamilton		1'26.134		246.216
2	Max Verstappen		1'26.209	0.075	246.002
3	Valtteri Bottas		1'26.328	0.194	245.663
4	Charles Leclerc		1'26.828	0.694	244.248
5	Sergio Perez		1'26.844	0.710	244.203
6	Lando Norris		1'26.897	0.763	244.054
7	Daniel Ricciardo		1'26.899	0.765	244.048
8	George Russell		1'26.971	0.837	243.846
9	Carlos Sainz Jr.		1'27.007	0.873	243.745
10	Sebastian Vettel		1'27.179	1.045	243.265
11	Fernando Alonso		1'27.245	1.111	243.080
12	Pierre Gasly		1'27.273	1.139	243.002
13	Esteban Ocon		1'27.340	1.206	242.816
14	Antonio Giovinazzi		1'27.617	1.483	242.048
15	Lance Stroll		1'27.665	1.531	241.916
16	Yuki Tsunoda		1'28.043	1.909	240.877
17	Kimi Raikkonen		1'28.062	1.928	240.825
18	Nicholas Latifi		1'28.254	2.120	240.301
19	Mick Schumacher		1'28.738	2.604	238.991
20	Nikita Mazepin		1'29.051	2.917	238.151
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What happened in Q1?

McLaren’s Lando Norris set the initial benchmark at 1m28.277s, easily eclipsed by Bottas on 1m27.487 and then Hamilton on 1m27.160s. Verstappen then showed everyone the way with 1m26.751s despite a huge slide at Club, which was 0.409s faster than Hamilton.

Hamilton improved to second place with a lap of 1m26.786s, within 0.035s of P1, thanks to a second run in the closing seconds, putting him ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). Norris and Bottas dropped to eighth and ninth respectively.

Falling at the first hurdle were AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, and the Haas duo of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

British Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Hamilton

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	3	1'26.751			244.465
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	8	1'26.786	0.035	0.035	244.366
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	8	1'27.051	0.300	0.265	243.622
4	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	8	1'27.121	0.370	0.070	243.426
5	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	10	1'27.323	0.572	0.202	242.863
6	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	9	1'27.337	0.586	0.014	242.824
7	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	6	1'27.415	0.664	0.078	242.608
8	Lando Norris	McLaren	8	1'27.444	0.693	0.029	242.527
9	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	8	1'27.487	0.736	0.043	242.408
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	6	1'27.493	0.742	0.006	242.391
11	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	6	1'27.580	0.829	0.087	242.151
12	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	9	1'27.595	0.844	0.015	242.109
13	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	8	1'27.600	0.849	0.005	242.095
14	George Russell	Williams	8	1'27.671	0.920	0.071	241.899
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	6	1'28.017	1.266	0.346	240.948
16	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	10	1'28.043	1.292	0.026	240.877
17	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	9	1'28.062	1.311	0.019	240.825
18	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	8	1'28.254	1.503	0.192	240.301
19	Mick Schumacher	Haas	10	1'28.738	1.987	0.484	238.991
20	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	9	1'29.051	2.300	0.313	238.151
View full results

What happened in Q2?

In Q2 there was no tyre decision to make in terms of running the mediums for a race strategy advantage, as choice for the sprint race is free. Hamilton set the bar at 1m26.602s, 0.164s quicker than Bottas. Verstappen took away P1 with 1m26.504s, only 0.098s faster than Hamilton at that point.

On the final runs, Hamilton took P1 with 1m26.023s and while Verstappen improved his time to 1m26.315s, that was 0.292s off Hamilton’s pace. Bottas was third, ahead of Sainz, Leclerc, Perez and George Russell (Williams).

Knocked out at this point were Fernando Alonso (Alpine – by just 0.025s), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin).

British Grand Prix Q2 results: Hamilton fastest from Verstappen

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	8	1'26.023			246.534
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	6	1'26.315	0.292	0.292	245.700
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	7	1'26.764	0.741	0.449	244.428
4	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	6	1'26.848	0.825	0.084	244.192
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	6	1'26.919	0.896	0.071	243.992
6	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	3	1'27.073	1.050	0.154	243.561
7	George Russell	Williams	6	1'27.080	1.057	0.007	243.541
8	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	3	1'27.103	1.080	0.023	243.477
9	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	6	1'27.125	1.102	0.022	243.415
10	Lando Norris	McLaren	6	1'27.220	1.197	0.095	243.150
11	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	6	1'27.245	1.222	0.025	243.080
12	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	6	1'27.273	1.250	0.028	243.002
13	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	6	1'27.340	1.317	0.067	242.816
14	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	6	1'27.617	1.594	0.277	242.048
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	6	1'27.665	1.642	0.048	241.916
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What happened in Q3?

In the top-10 shootout, Bottas set the benchmark at 1m26.548s, which was immediately beaten by Hamilton on 1m26.134s and Verstappen on 1m26.306s – with Lewis faster than his title rival, who was complaining of understeer, by 0.172s.

On the final runs, Hamilton was up on his fastest time until Vale, when he suffered a huge slide and blew his final chance. Verstappen did improve to 1m26.209s but that wasn’t enough to wrest away the fastest time by 0.075s.

Bottas improved with a lap of 1m26.328s, and stayed third, while Perez set the fourth fastest time but it was deleted for exceeding track limits. That dropped him back to fifth, behind Leclerc. Norris will start the sprint from sixth, ahead of Ricciardo, Russell, Sainz and Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).

British Grand Prix Q3 results: Hamilton takes sprint pole

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	7	1'26.134			246.216
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	7	1'26.209	0.075	0.075	246.002
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	7	1'26.328	0.194	0.119	245.663
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	6	1'26.828	0.694	0.500	244.248
5	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	6	1'26.844	0.710	0.016	244.203
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	6	1'26.897	0.763	0.053	244.054
7	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	6	1'26.899	0.765	0.002	244.048
8	George Russell	Williams	3	1'26.971	0.837	0.072	243.846
9	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	6	1'27.007	0.873	0.036	243.745
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	6	1'27.179	1.045	0.172	243.265
View full results