For Sainz, taking the first pole of his Formula 1 career after 151 meetings with a superb lap at Silverstone in extremely difficult conditions was a moment to relish. “Obviously it’s very special, especially to do it at Silverstone in the wet,” he said. “My confidence is high, I can hold the lead and do my own race. I’ve driven a few races in F1 and it felt great, the aim is to do it again.” Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was third and Sergio Pérez fourth for Red Bull, but Mercedes’ much-anticipated resurgence remains quite evident, with their car certainly improved but still six tenths off pole. Lewis Hamilton was fifth and his teammate George Russell eighth. Hamilton has a record eight wins here and has made the old airport his own, but it has been a tough slog at this season’s unruly Mercedes. The team had brought a number of upgrades here and the British driver was desperate to deliver. “I’m a bit disappointed because we have such a big crowd here,” he said “I was pushing so hard to get on the front row and fight for pole position. I think we could have been in the top three. I was aiming for second at least, to finish fifth makes tomorrow difficult but I know I have this amazing crowd with me so I’ll try to push on. If I can somehow keep them, maybe somehow I can move on. I will be aggressive tomorrow.” Verstappen had given it his all but couldn’t quite match Sainz, being seven centimeters behind on his final lap. With the partisan crowd still reeling from the controversial decision that cost Hamilton his eighth title in Abu Dhabi last season, Verstappen received a chorus of boos. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (right) celebrates with ex-Nigel Mansell after being presented with his pole position trophy. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA “It was a bit disappointing,” he said “If they want to boo, they do. I’m happy to be here, it’s a great atmosphere in general, everyone has their own opinions, I don’t care.” Hamilton, repeatedly booed by Verstappen fans last season, came to his rival’s defence. “I think we’re better than that,” he said. “I’d say we don’t need to do the booing. “We’ve got such great fans, our fans feel ups and downs, but I certainly don’t agree with the booing. I don’t think we need to do that. I think we should be here to push everyone. But I really appreciate the support I have here. Maybe some of them are still feeling the pain from last year.” Heavy rain had started shortly before the start of qualifying and intensified as the session continued, but Sainz produced an excellent run under the looming gray clouds at Silverstone. With the track still very wet, but the rain easing ahead of the final penalty, the drivers opened up with repeated laps, trying to find the optimum conditions as the times ticked down. Verstappen seemed to have the advantage from the start, pushing so hard on an opening lap that he did a complete 360 spin in the final sector, just keeping the car on the track for what remained a good run. He followed this up with repeated fastest laps as he and Leclerc traded the lead in a thrilling race. The Dutchman appeared to have the advantage only for Sainz to time his best lap of the day to perfection. His final run was huge, with a time of 1 minute 40.983 seconds. Verstappen roared behind him and gave it his all but couldn’t match him. That first pole was a well-deserved result for the Spaniard and he was understandably delighted to finally break his duck in the toughest conditions at this mighty circuit. However, Verstappen has a 46-point championship lead over Pérez and is 49 points clear of Leclerc. Ferrari must consider how best to balance Sainz’s ambition for his first victory with Leclerc’s need to bring the points back to Verstappen. Leclerc said he would be happy to support his team-mate’s bid for victory, but Sainz is 73 points adrift of the lead and can still be expected to drop back if Ferrari give the order. Lando Norris was sixth for McLaren and Fernando Alonso seventh for Alpine. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi did well to make Q3 for the first time in his career with a strong run in the wet to finish 10th. Guanyu Zhou was ninth for Alfa Romeo. Quick guide
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Thanks for your response. Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were 11th and 13th for AlphaTauri. Valtteri Bottas was 12th in Alfa Romeo, with Daniel Ricciardo 14th for McLaren and Esteban Ocon 15th for Alpine. The Aston Martins of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll came out in 18th and 20th place. Alex Albon was 16th for Williams and Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher finished 17th and 19th.
