Piastri just pipped for British GP pole by Verstappen
McLaren's Piastri trailed by 0.103 of a second to finish just ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who led a trio of Britons which also included Mercedes' George Russell in fourth and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
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."
Piastri lost time with a slight slide in the last corner on his final run, while Norris clipped a curb on an otherwise strong lap.
Piastri heads into Sunday's race with a 15-point lead over Norris, while Verstappen is third, 61 points off the lead.
Q1 was red flagged after Franco Colapinto of Alpine spun off and then stopped back on the track.
Antonelli and Haas driver Oliver Bearman came seventh and eighth, respectively, but will start further back due to grid penalties.
Antonelli loses three places due to the Austrian incident, and Bearman 10 places for driving too fast under a red flag in final practice, where he then also hit the barriers entering the pit lane.
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Daily Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Ferrari gun Charles Leclerc loses mind in British Grand Prix qualifying tirade
Don't miss out on the headlines from F1. Followed categories will be added to My News. Max Verstappen produced one of the finest and fastest qualifying laps of his career to seize pole position for Sunday might's British Grand Prix. The four-time world champion was struggling with a strong wind and cool and damp conditions after choosing a low downforce set-up that trimmed his wings but enabled higher speed on the straights. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. Before his final run of a tense and closely-fought qualifying hour, Verstappen was two-tenths slower than McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Dutchman powered to a fastest lap of one minute and 24.892 seconds to beat the Australian by 0.103 seconds. 'You went motor racing Max!' said his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, his deadpan delivery hiding Red Bull's delight as the team fight to find the performance that will ensure their star driver stays with them next year. Verstappen's mighty lap has in some ways been overshadowed by another deflating day for Ferrari where the team appeared to show impressive speed that was not converted into qualifying performance. Max Verstappen will again be the man to beat. AP Photo/Darko Bandic. Home hero Lewis Hamilton said an error on his final flying lap was all that cost him a probable front row starting position. His teammate Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was simply furious. Leclerc was also disappointed and blamed himself for failing to put together his best possible lap. 'I made too many mistakes and it is a pity,' he said, having qualified sixth behind Hamilton. He was much more blunt when speaking on team radio after the session. 'F***. F***. F***. F***. So f***ing s*** I am,' he raged. 'I am so f***ing s***. That's all I am.' It was a very different feeling for Verstappen, who proved why he is the best driver in the category. The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has declared he wants to stay, has been linked with Mercedes, whose team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed making contact. Unconfirmed Italian media reports this week claimed Verstappen had agreed to the move. Verstappen did his talking on the track, claiming his third pole at Silverstone and the 44th of the career with a virtuoso lap to keep alive faint hopes of defending his drivers' title in the second half of the season. Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc was in a dark moment. Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP. Weather permitting, a third British victory would help him trim his 61-point deficit to Piastri but if it rains, as forecast, Verstappen's set-up might leave him vulnerable to his rivals including Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, who is 15 points behind Piastri in the title race and third on the grid. 'The changes helped a lot and the car definitely turned in better,' said Verstappen. 'On my last lap, it all came together and the balance was much better and we were fast on the straights, but the high-speed corners were more difficult. 'We are pushing for more performance. It was tricky out there with the wind as the car is so sensitive to it. We have to wait to see what tomorrow will do and if there's rain around or not. 'I'm happy with qualifying. It's a big boost for the team as well and I'm excited to go racing tomorrow. We'll try! We are going to have fun and try to do the best we can.' Piastri was less happy. 'I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn't,' he said. 'The last lap was a little bit messy, but it's been tight all weekend. Charles Leclerc in the pits. Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP. 'I think my first lap was very I left a little bit on the table.' 'It's tough, especially when you think it's a good lap. You don't want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. There were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn't quite work.' Norris was third in the second McLaren, a tenth adrift. 'It was tough,' Norris said. 'We are not just fast enough today, but it's all good fun and I am happy with third. Credit to Max, he did a great job. It's going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle.' George Russell was next in a Mercedes. The Ferraris of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc filled the third row. Kimi Antonelli was seventh fastest in the second Mercedes but suffered a three-place penalty. Ollie Bearman was eighth for Haas but collected a 10-place grid penalty. Grid for British Grand Prix Front row Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) 2nd row Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 3rd row Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 4th row Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) 5th row Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams), Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes) 6th row Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull), Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB) 7th row Alex Albon (THA/Williams), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas) 8th row Liam Lawson (NZL/RB), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber) 9th row Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas) 10th row Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine-Renault) — with AFP Originally published as Ferrari gun Charles Leclerc loses mind in British Grand Prix qualifying tirade
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
Oscar Piastri says he was 'a bit safe' after qualifying second for the British F1 Grand Prix
Formula 1's hot topic is where Max Verstappen might go next season, but there was no doubt about where he belonged on the grid as he snatched pole position for the British Grand Prix. As his title rivals from McLaren made small but costly errors, Verstappen had the pace when it mattered most. He sacrificed grip for speed and went fastest by 0.103 of a second to beat Oscar Piastri's time. Lando Norris was third, .015 further back, as his fans in the new "Landostand" saw a setback to his chances of a first home win. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, a record nine-time winner of his home race, was also in the fight for pole but had to settle for fifth after a relatively slow end to his lap. With George Russell fourth for Mercedes, that made three British drivers in the top five, but none on the front row. Piastri lost time with a slight slide in the last corner on his final run, while Norris clipped a curb on an otherwise strong lap. Verstappen had seemed pessimistic about having the pace to challenge the McLarens at Silverstone — Ferrari had been closer than Red Bull in practice — and he described his car as "so difficult" over the radio partway through the session. Even so, he found the pace for pole. After Verstappen was frustrated with his car in practice, Red Bull tweaked the set-up for higher straight-line speed, at the cost of some grip, especially in Silverstone's many high-speed corners. "It seemed to hold on," was Verstappen's verdict. In Monday morning's race at 12am (AEST), that could make it trickier for the McLarens to get close enough to try to overtake. Even with the DRS overtaking aid, Norris said the McLarens might be able to match Verstappen's higher top speed only on the straights, not reel him in. Piastri said the conditions reminded him of qualifying at the Japanese GP in April, when Verstappen took pole. He kept both McLarens behind him in the race for his first win of 2025. "I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn't," Piastri said. "The last lap was a little bit messy, but it's been tight all weekend. "I think my first lap was very good … but I left a little bit on the table. "It's tough, especially when you think it's a good lap. You don't want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. There were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn't quite work." Piastri has a 15-point lead over Norris, while Verstappen was third, 61 points off the lead. Amid speculation over Verstappen's future, there was another sign of how much Red Bull relies on the four-time world champion as his teammate Yuki Tsunoda missed the top 10 for the sixth straight qualifying session. Tsunoda placed 12th and will seek to end a run of four races without scoring a point. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli qualified seventh but has a three-place penalty for crashing into Verstappen on the opening lap of the Austrian GP last week, dealing a heavy blow to Verstappen's title challenge. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman had impressive pace to qualify eighth. It meant little because he already had a 10-place penalty after he crashed in the pits after speeding under a red flag in practice. Franco Colapinto is under pressure with no points this season at Alpine and did himself no favours by qualifying last with a spin and slide into the barriers that brought out the red flag. AP/ABC
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Ferrari gun Charles Leclerc loses mind in British Grand Prix qualifying tirade
Max Verstappen produced one of the finest and fastest qualifying laps of his career to seize pole position for Sunday might's British Grand Prix. The four-time world champion was struggling with a strong wind and cool and damp conditions after choosing a low downforce set-up that trimmed his wings but enabled higher speed on the straights. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. Before his final run of a tense and closely-fought qualifying hour, Verstappen was two-tenths slower than McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Dutchman powered to a fastest lap of one minute and 24.892 seconds to beat the Australian by 0.103 seconds. 'You went motor racing Max!' said his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, his deadpan delivery hiding Red Bull's delight as the team fight to find the performance that will ensure their star driver stays with them next year. Verstappen's mighty lap has in some ways been overshadowed by another deflating day for Ferrari where the team appeared to show impressive speed that was not converted into qualifying performance. Home hero Lewis Hamilton said an error on his final flying lap was all that cost him a probable front row starting position. His teammate Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was simply furious. Leclerc was also disappointed and blamed himself for failing to put together his best possible lap. 'I made too many mistakes and it is a pity,' he said, having qualified sixth behind Hamilton. He was much more blunt when speaking on team radio after the session. 'F***. F***. F***. F***. So f***ing s*** I am,' he raged. 'I am so f***ing s***. That's all I am.' It was a very different feeling for Verstappen, who proved why he is the best driver in the category. The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has declared he wants to stay, has been linked with Mercedes, whose team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed making contact. Unconfirmed Italian media reports this week claimed Verstappen had agreed to the move. Verstappen did his talking on the track, claiming his third pole at Silverstone and the 44th of the career with a virtuoso lap to keep alive faint hopes of defending his drivers' title in the second half of the season. Weather permitting, a third British victory would help him trim his 61-point deficit to Piastri but if it rains, as forecast, Verstappen's set-up might leave him vulnerable to his rivals including Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, who is 15 points behind Piastri in the title race and third on the grid. 'The changes helped a lot and the car definitely turned in better,' said Verstappen. 'On my last lap, it all came together and the balance was much better and we were fast on the straights, but the high-speed corners were more difficult. 'We are pushing for more performance. It was tricky out there with the wind as the car is so sensitive to it. We have to wait to see what tomorrow will do and if there's rain around or not. 'I'm happy with qualifying. It's a big boost for the team as well and I'm excited to go racing tomorrow. We'll try! We are going to have fun and try to do the best we can.' Piastri was less happy. 'I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn't,' he said. 'The last lap was a little bit messy, but it's been tight all weekend. 'I think my first lap was very I left a little bit on the table.' 'It's tough, especially when you think it's a good lap. You don't want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. There were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn't quite work.' Norris was third in the second McLaren, a tenth adrift. 'It was tough,' Norris said. 'We are not just fast enough today, but it's all good fun and I am happy with third. Credit to Max, he did a great job. It's going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle.' George Russell was next in a Mercedes. The Ferraris of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc filled the third row. Kimi Antonelli was seventh fastest in the second Mercedes but suffered a three-place penalty. Ollie Bearman was eighth for Haas but collected a 10-place grid penalty. Grid for British Grand Prix Front row Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) 2nd row Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 3rd row Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 4th row Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) 5th row Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams), Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes) 6th row Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull), Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB) 7th row Alex Albon (THA/Williams), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas) 8th row Liam Lawson (NZL/RB), Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber) 9th row Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas)
