Max Verstappen claimed a sensational and unexpected pole position in qualifying for the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, finishing ahead of both McLaren drivers. Below is the complete summary and full results from an intense and thrilling qualifying session in Great Britain.
The qualifying at Silverstone delivered excitement down to the thousandths of a second, with changing conditions and dramatic developments across all three segments.
Q1 – First Qualifying Session
Under an overcast sky and with light rain falling intermittently over the Silverstone circuit, all drivers opted for the soft tyre compound. In the opening ten minutes, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri led the standings with a 1:26.002, just 0.039s ahead of Max Verstappen. Fernando Alonso impressed in third place, only a tenth behind, ahead of Lando Norris. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton followed, around three-tenths off the pace.
Isack Hadjar took seventh, just ahead of Oliver Bearman and Charles Leclerc, with Alexander Albon rounding out the top 10. Gaps were extremely tight: Albon was within a tenth of Hamilton in sixth. Carlos Sainz was eleventh, followed by Lance Stroll and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda also managed to stay within the cutoff.
The session was halted with just under seven minutes remaining when Franco Colapinto ran off at the final corner and crashed into the barriers, damaging his Alpine and bringing out the red flag.
Once running resumed, Max Verstappen improved his time to a 1:25.886, reclaiming the top spot. Oscar Piastri, despite going back out, did not complete a second flying lap. Oliver Bearman posted an impressive third-fastest time, only a tenth behind Verstappen, followed by Albon, Alonso, Norris, Esteban Ocon, Sainz, and Hadjar—all within two-tenths. Leclerc was tenth, three-tenths off the top, followed by Russell, Antonelli, Tsunoda, and Hamilton. Pierre Gasly claimed the final Q2 spot.
Eliminated in Q1 were Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Nico Hülkenberg, and Franco Colapinto. Despite his 19th position, Hülkenberg was less than seven-tenths off Verstappen, further highlighting the competitiveness of the session.
Q2 – Second Qualifying Session
Lando Norris topped the charts with a lap of 1:25.231, just 0.085s ahead of Verstappen. Oscar Piastri recorded an identical time to Verstappen but was classified third. George Russell and Fernando Alonso followed in fourth and fifth, around four-tenths back. Carlos Sainz was sixth, just ahead of Alexander Albon in seventh, giving Williams a solid showing.
Isack Hadjar, Bearman, and Ocon provisionally held the final spots for Q3 qualification. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc, Gasly, and Tsunoda were on the outside looking in—though most of them had only used worn tyres.
On their second runs with fresh tyres, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap with a 1:25.084, just 0.049s ahead of Charles Leclerc, as both Ferrari drivers surged to the top. The earlier top three didn’t improve and thus dropped two positions each. Bearman continued his strong performance, finishing sixth ahead of Alonso. Mercedes-AMG drivers Antonelli and Russell scraped through, both half a second down on the Ferraris.
Pierre Gasly put in a clutch lap to get Alpine into Q3, while Sainz, Tsunoda, Hadjar, Albon, and Ocon were eliminated.
Q3 – Final Qualifying Session
After the first runs, Oscar Piastri provisionally held pole with a 1:24.995. Lewis Hamilton split the two McLarens, sitting second, just over a tenth behind. Max Verstappen was fourth, just ahead of Leclerc, both about three-tenths off the lead. George Russell posted the sixth-best time using used tyres, followed by Alonso, Bearman, Antonelli, and Gasly.
In the final run, an incredible lap from Max Verstappen delivered pole position with a time of 1:24.892. Piastri did not improve on his earlier time, and Lando Norris remained just 0.015s behind his McLaren teammate. George Russell finished fourth, only 0.137s off pole.
Scuderia Ferrari was left disappointed: despite earlier pace in Q2, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could only manage fifth and sixth, respectively, both about two-tenths behind Verstappen.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took seventh ahead of Oliver Bearman—though Bearman will drop down the order due to a grid penalty. Alonso and Gasly rounded out the Q3 runners.
Qualifying Results – 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone
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