Verstappen at Silverstone. / Picture: APA / AFP / POOL / LARS BARON
The first sprint qualification in Formula 1 history at Silverstone was a more or less clear affair for Max Verstappen. The Dutch Red Bull driver won the race in short format with a free choice of tires over 17 laps on Saturday and thus secured pole position for the actual race on Sunday (4 p.m. / live ORF 1 and Sky). The Mercedes pairing Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas landed on the other places.
Verstappen had overtaken pole sitter Hamilton at the start, the British local hero did not get off to a good start. Fourth was Ferrari man Charles Leclerc. The Spaniard Fernando Alonso surprised by placing his Alpine in seventh place on the grid.
Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull caused a spin and was later asked by his team to end the sprint. He will start out of the pit lane on Sunday. “I was a passenger relatively early in the curve. I'm sorry for the team,” said the Mexican.
Verstappen got another point on his World Cup lead, he is now 33 points ahead of Hamilton. For the 23-year-old Red Bull star, it was the fourth pole position in a row and the eighth overall in his career. “A good job,” he radioed to his crew. “I got off to a really good start, that was a great fight with Lewis so early. You could see that we really challenged the cars because there was so much blistering on the tires,” said Verstappen later.
Red Bull broke the qualification dominance of Mercedes. The “Silver Arrows” had conquered every pole position in the British motorsport Mecca from 2013 to 2020. First and foremost, Hamilton would like to thank the numerous fans who had come en masse to Silverstone with the blessing of the British government. “I gave everything today, I'm sorry I couldn't win it for you,” said the seven-time world champion. “Tomorrow we will fight again, but they are just so strong, especially Max.”
Like Verstappen, Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko also addressed the material battle – i.e. the tire issue. Verstappen controlled the race, “but it was a tremor, because we also had a lot of vibration. I think Bottas at least had that too, and the Hamilton tire has already been partially dissolved. So that will be a whole tomorrow difficult thing, “said the Styrian in the ORF television interview. With regard to Sunday, “the tire strategy must be clearly reconsidered”.
