The 23-year-old was the fastest in the first sprint race in Formula 1 history and secured the fourth pole in a row.
Verstappen passed Hamilton at the start and secured pole for the GP at Silverstone
The experiment was a success. Max Verstappen is the first winner of a sprint race in Formula 1, the result of which is the starting grid for the race. The 23-year-old Dutchman won the “Small Prize” from Great Britain on Saturday, received three points for the World Cup and will start today (4 p.m. CET / live ORF 1, Sky) from position 1 in the real Grand Prix.
“I got off to a really good start and it was a great fight with Lewis from the start. You could see we pushed hard as our tires were blistered a lot. I think tomorrow will be a very exciting race and we're looking forward to it, ”said the 23-year-old Red Bull star after the historic sprint race.
The seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton therefore has to attempt an overtaking maneuver in front of a home crowd.
Max Verstappen takes P1 in the first ever # F1Sprint! 🏁
He took the lead from Lewis Hamilton at lights out and never looked back! #BritishGP 🇬🇧 # F1 pic.twitter.com/BtXqDG8I7v
– Formula 1 (@ F1) July 17, 2021
Entertaining
The world premiere at Silverstone was undoubtedly more exciting than a conventional qualifying, which the 140,000 fans at the track were also able to see for themselves – despite the increasing Corona numbers in Great Britain. Lewis Hamilton, who started from first place on Saturday, botched his start, soon had to let Verstappen go and be satisfied with second place after 17 laps.
“I'm sorry for the great fans that I couldn't get first place,” said the seven-time world champion in an interview with his former team-mate Jenson Button. “I wish I could repeat the start and do better.”
It was already evident in the sprint race that Red Bull should also be favored for the Grand Prix. “You are so strong. We have to work even harder, otherwise we will lose even more ground. “
Alonso surprised
With a time of 25: 38.426 over 17 laps, Verstappen finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton (+1.430) and Valtteri Bottas (+7.502) in the sprint premiere at Silverstone. Fourth was Ferrari man Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard Fernando Alonso surprised by overtaking six competitors at the start and finally placing his Alpine in seventh place on the grid.
Fernando Alonso briefly took fifth place
On the other hand, the premiere also saw a clear loser: Red Bull man Sergio Pérez spun off the track, today he will start from the very back.
Verstappen got another point to his World Cup lead, he is now 33 points ahead of Hamilton. For the 23-year-old Red Bull driver, it is the fourth pole position in a row and the eighth overall in his career. “A good job,” he radioed his crew.
Pole position should go “100 percent” to the fastest man in qualifying, tweeted Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion. The new regulation would “cannibalize” the history and statistics of Formula 1.
This is not the right decision. Pole 100% has to go to the fastest guy in qualifying. The sprint race winner should not be awarded pole position. That will totally canibalize the historic F1 statistics. https://t.co/RQ5Xqf9gTI
– Nico Rosberg (@NicoRosberg) July 15, 2021
