2021 British Grand Prix qualifying report & highlights: Hamilton digs deep to beat Verstappen in qualifying to take first grid spot for F1 Sprint

Lewis Hamilton had a sensational qualifying lap to light up Silverstone and ensure he starts P1’s very first F1 Sprint ahead of title rival Max Verstappen.

This historic Friday night qualifying session, which sets the grid for Saturday’s very first Sprint F1 as opposed to Sunday’s British Grand Prix itself, saw the drivers go all out for the P1 on soft tires only – according to regulations of this experimental experience. weekend.

Mercedes may have won nine of the last nine pole positions available on this track, but Verstappen fired the first shot for Red Bull, passing Q1 by 0.035s in front of Hamilton. But Hamilton bounced back in Q2, his time there almost half a second faster than Verstappen’s. That left the crowd of 90,000 salivating for the third quarter in the evening sun.

And in the last segment, Hamilton was the fastest with his first effort – a 1m26.134s – for the provisional P1. Could Verstappen answer this time? In his final run, Hamilton established two purple sectors but failed to improve with an oversteer at Vale. The Dutchman, however, was slower in Sector 2 and his third sector was not good enough; the crowd went wild as he missed P1 by 0.075 seconds at the flag, securing Hamilton the top spot.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took third, 0.194 seconds off pace, while Sergio Perez lost his P4 time for a track boundary violation at Stowe and finished fifth overall, propelling Charles Leclerc to P4 for Ferrari. .

McLarens’ pair Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo reached Q3 and were around seven-tenths off the lead, placing sixth and seventh respectively.

George Russell, seventh in Q2 for a second consecutive appearance in Q3, managed to advance to eighth overall for Williams with just one lap thrown, alone on track in the final segment, as his home crowd applauded his every move in an electric atmosphere in Silver Stone. He beat Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who finished P9, and Sebastian Vettel – the four-time champion completing the top 10 for Aston Martin.

The surprise crashes in Q2 were Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri in P12 and the two Alpines – Fernando Alonso lost by a hair to Norris’ McLaren as he started P11 for the very first Sprint F1 on Saturday.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Hamilton a mustache behind Verstappen as Tsunoda and Raikkonen miss

A sold-out crowd – only the orange-clad minority for Max Verstappen this time after the last race in Austria – made the drivers roar under the setting sun at Silverstone in this unusual Friday session. Yet it was the championship leader Red Bull who dominated the timesheets in the opening segment with a benchmark time of 1m26.751s. As per F1 Sprint weekend rules, only soft tires were available in all three segments of qualifying today.

READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About The F1 Sprint Format, Including How It Works

Lewis Hamilton sprinted late for P1 but was only able to finish 0.035 seconds behind Verstappen, in second, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc shrugged on the last corner to take third place in this session for Ferrari in front of Sergio Perez.

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martins found themselves in the drop zone, behind Williams’ George Russell, as the session drew to a close. However, they did manage to get out of Q1, with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda ultimately missing Q2 for the fifth time this season – this time by 0.026 seconds for Stroll in P15.

Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo, 17th, was in Q1 for the fourth consecutive round ahead of Nicholas Latifi of Williams, and the two Haas drivers, Mick Schumacher, one place ahead of Nikita Mazepin.

Eliminated: Tsunoda, Raikkonen, Latifi, Schumacher and Mazepin.

Q2 – Hamilton bounces back as Gasly and the Alpines get knocked out

With the sun setting and the temperatures dropping, the drivers wasted no time getting into the second timed attack at Silverstone. And the laps were fast and dense in Q2 with Hamilton briefly owning the P1 spot – until Verstappen immediately responded with a lap of 1m26.504s to eclipse his rival by 0.098s.

Play. Behind the title’s protagonists were Bottas’s Mercedes in third and Perez’s other Red Bull in fourth.

Fernando Alonso’s first pitched lap was not ideal, while teammate Esteban Ocon seemed much more comfortable having received a new chassis and MGU-K for this weekend.

Antonio Giovinazzi, preparing for his 50th Grand Prix start, was the slowest after his first effort with an error at Turn 9. Aston Martin’s Stroll, Alonso, Russell and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri were in danger of leaving Q2 so that the chronometer was running out.

As for Ferrari, their Leclerc talisman was clamoring for a wake after taking the P8 with his first lap, teammate Carlos Sainz in seventh, until late improvements put them fourth and fifth.

With ominous shadows, Bottas’ black Mercedes, then Hamilton, emerged first; Leclerc follows Sainz; then a flurry of challengers to follow – with McLaren’s Ricciardo last.

Hamilton’s opening sector heralded a two-tenths improvement over his personal best and it was clear the Red Bulls weren’t so comfortable. The Briton delivered, improving to 1m26.023s and going 0.292s faster than Verstappen for the P1.

The greatest joy, however, was reserved for Williams’ Russell, who reached 7th place in Q2 with an astonishing effort – a Hamilton second – giving Williams a back-to-back appearance in Q3 for the first time since 2017.

The McLarens scratched, Ricciardo in ninth to end a three-race drought in Q3 and Lando Norris in 10th. This left both Alpine missing in Q2, as well as AlphaTauri’s Gasly who failed to reach Q3 for just the second time in 13 races.

Knocked Out: Alonso, Gasly, Ocon, Giovinazzi and Stroll.

Q3 – Hamilton and Verstappen face off in biting session after Russell’s heroism

Thrilled and seemingly rejuvenated after his Q2 triumph, Hamilton was determined not to tow his rival Verstappen in the final segment. Sainz led the drivers for the top 10 shootout, with Hamilton and then Verstappen in the back.

A Euro-2020-like cheer was given as Hamilton set the benchmark time – while Verstappen said: “I just don’t understand what’s going on”, complaining of understeer – because the Mercedes had 0.172 second ahead of Red Bull in the standings. .

Bottas was third at the start, while Perez was fourth – fending off the challenge of the McLaren pair – after the opening laps. Ferrari’s Sainz and Aston Martin’s Vettel struggled to set representative times, however, and placed eighth and ninth. Take a short break from the action …

… Which was then interrupted by the resplendent Williams of Russell – alone on the track – who reveled in his second Q3 appearance for Williams to achieve a brilliant 1m26.971 lap under the hordes of British fans cheering him on , this time tentatively placing him seventh.

As Russell finished his lap, Hamilton emerged for his final run with the checkered flag looming and illuminated the first two sectors in purple. But then at Vale the back of his W12 came out. He saved the car, but his knees were ruined. The benchmark for Verstappen was 1m26.134s.

The roar of the crowd was silenced in a shroud of suspense as the Dutchman, having previously complained of understeer, set a personal best in the first sector. His second, however, was not that solid, and as he rallied in the final corners, his ultimate time was 0.075s over the pace. Hamilton has once again made history: for the very first Sprint F1, he will start on the grid first.

Bottas assured Mercedes would have both cars set to nip Verstappen for the start of the Sprint as he qualified third ahead of Ferrari’s quick Leclerc, while Perez missed out on P4 and a second row start for Red Bull with his time marked for a track limits infractions to Stowe.

McLaren lined up sixth and seventh, with Norris ahead of Ricciardo, while Russell’s lone lap time will see him start eighth for the Sprint. Ferrari’s Sainz struggled in Q3 and will start ninth, ahead of quadruple Aston Vettel champion in P10. But above all, those who have reached Q3 will not have to start with the tires on which they established their times in Q2.

The crowds will return tomorrow for a day to remember at Silverstone as the very first Sprint F1 takes place. Join us for live coverage and up-to-date reaction for FP2 and Sprint on Saturday.

The key quote

“We’ve been missing this for a year. I lost my voice a bit. I am so grateful to see everyone here; we’ve missed you for a whole year so to come to the Silverstone Grand Prix and have a whole crowd like this you see the energy and when I walked in I was hoping with the great job that we did together in the team, plus the energy of the fans, that would get us there. It depends on the fans, I think. – Lewis Hamilton

And after?

FP2 will follow at 12:00 local time on Saturday before the F1 Sprint debuts. Read our intro for a refresher on the all-new F1 format before history is made at Silverstone, with title rivals Hamilton and Verstapp starting at number one.

And the action continues on Sunday, of course, with Saturday’s Sprint setting up the grid for the 2021 British Grand Prix.

F1.com will have live coverage and up-to-date reaction throughout the British Grand Prix weekend.