Verstappen snatches British GP pole in unpredictable qualifying

Chloe Buckley
Jul 5
3 min read

Written by Chloe Buckley

Verstappen secures pole position at Silverstone | Credit: Red Bull content pool

Max Verstappen picked up a shocking pole position at the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix, upsetting several home drivers. It was an unpredictable qualifying session at Silverstone to set up what should be a thrilling race on Sunday.

Qualifying 1

The qualifying session began at 15:00 BST with several drivers making their way out of the pits to get some early banker laps in. Alex Albon was the first driver to set a lap time quicker than 1:27:00, but he didn't remain at the top for long before Max Verstappen took the fastest time. Oscar Piastri then went fastest overall ahead of Verstappen with a time of 1:26:002.

With eight minutes to go in Q1, Franco Colapinto spun out in the final corner which brought out a yellow flag. He tried his best to get out of the gravel but the red flag was brought out in the end.

The session resumed at 15:21 BST. Some drivers came over the radio to say the track felt more slippery than before due to the drizzling rain. Verstappen set a 1:25:886 lap time putting him fastest overall in Q1. With a lot of pressure on Oliver Bearman after his 10-place grid penalty, he put in a great time to put him in third place for Q1.

Whilst only in 13th, Lewis Hamilton was brought back into the pits with no time to refuel and put in another time, but manages to make it into Q2. McLaren and Ferrari were not as quick as expected in Q1, but still have a lot of time to go for the next qualifying sessions.

Eliminated in Q1 is Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto.

Qualifying 2

Hamilton went fastest in Q2 | Credit: F1

Part two of British GP qualifying saw Verstappen first out onto the track as he put in a 1:25:316 lap time. Shortly after, Piastri put in the exact same time.

It wasn't long before Norris found his pace again and went faster than his team mate and Verstappen with a time of 1:25:231.

Fernando Alonso came over the radio as he felt Kimi Antonelli was impeding him. Antonelli carries a three-place grid penalty due to his clash with Verstappen last weekend.

Several midfield cars were sitting ahead of both Ferrari's. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were in the bottom five with only three minutes to go.

With less than a minute to go, Hamilton and Leclerc went quickest to get themselves into Q3. It's the final lap for Antonelli to get his Mercedes out of the elimination zone and into the top 10. He goes eighth fastest. Pierre Gasly also managed to squeeze his way into Q3 by going 10th fastest.

The eliminations in Q2 are Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.

Qualifying 3

Verstappen claims pole position | Credit: Red Bull content pool

The cars began queueing down the pit lane at the beginning of Q3. A 1:25:267 lap time for provisional pole by Verstappen is shortly stolen by Piastri who set a flying lap time of 1:24:995. Norris quickly slotted into second on the front row next to his team mate.

It didn't take long for Hamilton to split up the McLaren's as he went second fastest. Leclerc is sitting in fifth and George Russell in sixth.

Norris soon managed to take his position on the front row back as Hamilton couldn't improve his time. Russell slotted into third, but Verstappen went fastest with a stunning 1:24:829 lap time to take pole position for Sunday's race.