Max Verstappen snatches Silverstone pole, setback for Alex Dunne in F2 sprint race

RTÉ News​

9 hours ago

Max Verstappen saw off McLaren's Formula One title-contending duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to put his Red Bull on pole position for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Verstappen did not look to be in the hunt for first place, but he pulled a brilliant lap out of the bag to beat Piastri by 0.103 seconds with Norris third, 0.118 seconds adrift.
George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had dared to dream of a first pole position for Ferrari, but ended up two tenths off the pace. Charles Leclerc qualified sixth in the other Ferrari.
Verstappen was only fourth after the opening runs in Q3 at a gusty and overcast Silverstone, and complained his Red Bull was difficult to drive.
However, when it mattered most the four-time world champion came from nowhere to take top spot - his first pole since Miami at the beginning of May.
"Simply lovely," he said over the radio and then added: "That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track in qualifying where you have to go flat out.
"It is a big boost for the team as well and excited to go racing tomorrow. We are going to go racing, we will do the best we can."
Norris said: "Not the top but still a good day. It's going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle. It's going to be an interesting Sunday so I'm looking forward to it."
Norris starts his home race 15 points behind Piastri in the world championship, and he will have to force himself ahead of his team-mate to prevent the Australian from extending his title advantage.
Hamilton is the King of Silverstone, winning a record nine times and finishing on the podium in all of his last 11 appearances at his home race.
He heads into Sunday's British Grand Prix without a top-three finish to his name in Ferrari colours but that could change following a strong performance - out-qualifying Leclerc for just the fourth time this year - although he might feel disappointed not to be nearer the front after heading into the final runs in Q3 in second.
British rookie Ollie Bearman will line up from 18th for his first home race after he was served with a 10-place grid penalty for crashing in the pit-lane.
Bearman was also sanctioned with four penalty points after he entered the pits at 160mph during a red-flag period in the final practice session. The punishment leaves Bearman, who actually qualified an impressive eighth, on just eight points from the first 12 rounds of his career, leaving him only four away from a race ban.
Q1 was suspended for 10 minutes after Franco Colapinto spun at the final corner. Colapinto hit the kerb sending him sideways and through the gravel and then gently into the wall. The Argentine was able to limp out of the sand trap but the running was red-flagged following repairs to the barriers.
Earlier, in the F2 sprint race, it was a race to forget for Ireland's Alex Dunne as he dropped to fourth in the drivers' championship standings.
The Offaly native had started the Silverstone round second in the championship behind Richard Verschoor but a collision with Italian driver Gabriele Mini on lap eight left the Rodin team driver with damage to his car, forcing a pitstop that left him last on track. Mini subsequently received a ten-second penalty for his part in the incident.
Dunne continued on before retiring the car with four laps to go. Netherlands' Verschoor scored one point after finishing eighth in the sprint which extends his championship lead over the 19-year-old Irishman to 25 points.
Italian Leonardo Fornaroli, who won the sprint, and US driver Jak Crawford have also leapfrogged Dunne in the standings by six and one point respectively.
Dunne will have a chance to bounce back quickly with Sunday's feature race still to come, for which he has qualified second.