Kimi Antonelli will start on pole position for the British Grand Prix ahead of both Ferraris, Charles Leclerc leading Lewis Hamilton.
Q1: Russell Narrowly Escapes Trouble
Ferrari set the initial speed in Q1 with Leclerc outpacing his British team mate by just a tenth of a second.
The yellow flag was waved with 10 minutes to go as George Russell locked up and understeered at Luffield, lightly touching the barrier.
He managed to keep his Mercedes running, luckily for him only suffering fixable front wing damage in what could’ve been a much more serious incident on home soil for him.
On the final runs of the session, Verstappen separated the two Ferraris at the top, despite reporting issues with his car. It was Verstappen’s team mate however who would top the session.
Ocon was the first to be eliminated in Q1 after being affected by yellow flags at Beckett’s as Colapinto spun. Consequently, Colapinto joins Ocon, Bottas, Pérez, Stroll and Alonso in the drop zone.
Gasly caught the attention of the stewards for allegedly impeding Lance Stroll. This will be investigated after Qualifying.
Q2: Verstappen Unhappy with his Red Bull
Antonelli found himself under pressure after his first flying lap. He went wide at Village and was forced to abandon his first attempt. Lucky for him, his Mercedes had enough fuel for him to push for a competitive lap, putting him P3 on the second time of asking.
Verstappen’s deployment issues continued throughout Q2. The 4 time world champion called it a “disaster” over team radio and was off the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari.
Leclerc bettered Hamilton’s fastest time from the first runs by over two tenths but it was the current championship leader who would go purple in Q2, a tenth ahead of Leclerc.
Once again, Pierre Gasly raised eyebrows in the stewards’ room for weaving down the straight while Oscar Piastri was behind him on a flying lap. Later it came to light that Gasly had lost radio communication to the Alpine pit wall who were unable to tell him about faster cars behind- something that will favour him and hopefully persuade the stewards.
Frustrated with his performance, Gabriel Bortoleto will start P11. He apologised to his Audi team, saying the car had more pace than he was able to deliver. He still out qualified his team mate Nico Hulkenburg who was also eliminated, along with Gasly, Bearman, Sainz and Albon.
Q3: Antonelli back on top
Looking to take his fifth pole of the season, Antonelli was right on track after setting a 1:28.385 and going fastest. His Mercedes team mate put in a more competitive performance, going second fastest and trailing Antonelli by only one tenth of a second.
Antonelli extended his lead ahead by another two and a half tenths, solidifying pole position for him at the British Grand Prix.
Leclerc looked ready to take the challenge to the young Italian after setting a purple first sector but was ultimately 0.175 seconds shy of Kimi. Hamilton will start third, a disappointing result for him after taking the Sprint Race pole yesterday evening.
Isack Hadjar (P5) out qualified an unhappy Max Verstappen who only managed P7, splitting both McLarens. He will join Oscar Piastri on the fourth row of the grid.
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