F1 knows new pole position holder, qualifying in Britain significantly affected by rain

For the second time in a row, Formula 1 saw wet qualifying. And once again, it was a spectacle at Silverstone. Pole position was won for the first time ever by Carlos Sainz, who will be joined on the front row by championship leader Max Verstappen. The surprise was Nicholas Latifi’s performance, which got Williams into Q3.

The first part of qualifying brought a classic battle with a drying track. The drivers were improving steadily and the last, non-advancing, top five was changing by the minute. Some drivers opted to change to new tyres midway through the opening act for the intermediate conditions.

The most surprising result of Q1 was the retirement of Alexander Albon at the expense of his teammate Nicholas Latifi. The latter was running an old version of the Williams monopost, which should have been up to a second slower.

The last five, apart from Albon in 16th, will be Kevin Magnussen (Haas) in 17th, Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) in 18th, Mick Schumacher (Haas) in 19th and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) in 20th. Max Verstappen won Q1 with a time of 1:39.129.

In the 15-minute middle block, although the drops returned to the track, the circuit was still getting faster with each lap as the drivers were very active. With about seven minutes to go, the rain intensified and the times slowed considerably. Drivers from eleventh place onwards were still trying to fight their way into Q3, but to no avail.

The starting positions for the rest of the second ten were determined as follows: 11th Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri), 12th Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), 13th Júki Cunoda (Alpha Tauri), 14th Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 15th Esteban Ocon (Alpine). Q2 was won again by Max Verstappen, this time with a time of 1:40.655.

In the final twelve minutes, Max Verstappen was the main favourite for pole position. The drivers were struggling significantly with their monoblocks, Verstappen himself even ending up on the clock. The approaching rain once again shuffled the cards and the battle for first place escalated.

And in the end, a very unexpected pole position went to Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari. The first qualifying win for a Spanish driver in Ferrari colours came after a year and a half in the Maranello stable. Max Verstappen starts second, Charles Leclerc third.

Final Q3 standings: 1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 4. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), 5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 6. Lando Norris (McLaren), 7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 8. George Russell (Mercedes), 9. Kuan-yu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), 10. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

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