Ferrari had hype, and McLaren has the pace every weekend. But through goes ... Max Verstappen, again! Fresh off a DNF in Austria, Verstappen took pole for Sunday's British Grand Prix. Here's what we saw through Saturday's session in Silverstone.
Q1: Colapinto's struggles continue
Franco Colapinto's not-so-smooth beginning to his Alpine tenure continued as he entered the Club corner.
The Argentine driver spun through the gravel and made light contact with the wall. He was able to get going again, but wasn't able to bring it back around. It brought out the red flag with over six minutes left in the session.
The session saw light drops throughout, but dry tires remained on throughout.
Ferrari nearly fed Lewis Hamilton into a Q1 elimination after not fueling him for an additional lap, but he was just able to survive.
Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls' momentum from last week did not carry over, while Lance Stroll went out in Q1 for his fourth session in a row (and seven of the last eight).
Q2: Williams, Tsunoda miss out again
Ferrari showed their promising pace in the second session with a 1-2.
Meanwhile, Mercedes barely made it through, which was even more important for Kimi Antonelli and his grid peanlty stemming from his crash with Max Verstappen in Austria.
But the same couldn't be said in making it through for Williams. The team had its second-straight race weekend without either driver in Q3. The team also hasn't had both drivers in Q3 since Imola.
Yuki Tsunoda's horrifying run of form since joining Red Bull continued as well: he missed Q3 for the sixth consecutive weekend.
Q3: Stunner for pole, Ferrari shocker
Ferrari seemed to come into the final session as the favorites, but it wasn't to be at all for Leclerc or Hamilton, who could only manage a spot on the third row.
George Russell put up an impressive lap for P4 after the Mercedes seemed off the pace all weekend, so it brought things down to the McLarens vs. Verstappen.
McLaren laid down two solid laps within a few milliseconds but with Piastri at the helm. But Verstappen waited until late to try his lap, and with two purple sectors, he beat out the papaya team by over a tenth. It was Verstappen's fourth pole of 2025, a stunning effort coming off the back of his lowest grid slot last week in Austria.
What could've been an incredible homecoming for Ollie Bearman is instead disappointment. The Haas driver took P8, but will instead start 10 spots back due to a penalty from practice.
Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz will be delighted with penalties for Bearman and Antonelli, as they both jump two spots each.
When to watch on Sunday
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2025 British Grand Prix qualifying results
NOTE: This does not include penalties for Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli — scroll down to "Starting Grid" for that information.
Position | Driver | Gap/Final Session |
---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 1:24.892 |
2 | Oscar Piastri | +0.103 |
3 | Lando Norris | +0.118 |
4 | George Russell | +0.137 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | +0.203 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | +0.229 |
7 | Kimi Antonelli | +0.482 |
8 | Ollie Bearman | +0.579 |
9 | Fernando Alonso | +0.729 |
10 | Pierre Gasly | +0.893 |
11 | Carlos Sainz | Eliminated in Q2 by +0.035 |
12 | Yuki Tsunoda | Eliminated in Q2 by +0.115 |
13 | Isack Hadjar | Eliminated in Q2 by +0.153 |
14 | Alex Albon | Eliminated in Q2 by +0.178 |
15 | Esteban Ocon | Eliminated in Q2 by +0.239 |
16 | Liam Lawson | Eliminated in Q1 by +0.112 |
17 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Eliminated in Q1 by +0.118 |
18 | Lance Stroll | Eliminated in Q1 by +0.176 |
19 | Nico Hulkenberg | Eliminated in Q1 by +0.246 |
20 | Franco Colapinto | Eliminated in Q1 by +0.732 |
2025 British Grand Prix starting grid
Position | Driver | |
---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | |
2 | Oscar Piastri | |
3 | Lando Norris | |
4 | George Russell | |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | |
6 | Charles Leclerc | |
7 | Fernando Alonso | |
8 | Pierre Gasly | |
9 | Carlos Sainz | |
10 | Kimi Antonelli | 3-place grid drop due to crash in Austria - drops from P7 to P10 |
11 | Yuki Tsunoda | |
12 | Isack Hadjar | |
13 | Alex Albon | |
14 | Esteban Ocon | |
15 | Liam Lawson | |
16 | Gabriel Bortoleto | |
17 | Lance Stroll | |
18 | Ollie Bearman | 10-place grid drop due to flag infringement, drops from P8 to P18. |
19 | Nico Hulkenberg | |
20 | Franco Colapinto |