British GP: Max Verstappen edges past Oscar Piastri for Pole position

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New Delhi: It is Max Verstappen who takes the pole position in the British Grand Prix 2025, snatching it while all the attention lay on McLaren and Ferrari throughout the session. Championship leader Oscar Piastri made a crucial mistake during the final stage of the qualification, giving away the best seat in the race to the Dutch driver. Piastri is followed by his teammate Lando Norris, starting on the second row alongside local boy George Russell.

Both Ferraris looked to be in a decent pace, with Lewis Hamilton looking threatening to take away the pole position, but ultimately ended in fifth place, followed by his teammate Charles Leclerc. Verstappen looks to have a good pace and will start Sunday’s race in the perfect place to take his second win at the British GP.

It would have been quite a British domination in the race with Oliver Bearman securing a brilliant eighth for Hass, but will be demoted to 18th on the grid owing to going too fast during red-flag conditions in practice when he crashed in the pit lane.

Q1 shines despite clouds looming at Silverstone

It was Piastri who left an amazing mark in the first lap, going faster than Verstappen and Norris, with Fernando Alonso providing the biggest surprise when he went the third-fastest during the early runs. However, Franco Colapinto triggered a red flag after he into the wall of the final corner and though he resumed driving, but had to pull off with his future at the motorsport in question now. 

At that moment, the Q1 top three consisted of Piastri, Verstappen and Alonso with Gabrield Borteoleto, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg along with Colapinto in the drop zone. The margins were really close with the top 10 finding a difference of less than four-tenths. When action resumes Piastri noted there were raindrops and the situation could turn bad. 

Sainz’s lflying lap ensured he was the eighth fastest with his final effort, with Gasly ensuring that Liam Lawson was demoted.

Q2 and Q3 see close contest 

Both Verstappen and Piastri in the first Q2 laps had rare dead heats, with a time set of 1:25:316 which Norris managed to up by 0.0085 seconds. Russell as still in the fourth. With just seven minutes remaining, the two Ferrari drivers along with Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli were in the drop zone while the two Hass cars ran in ninth and 10th. Even Sainz, Albon sat sixth and seventh. However Hamilton and Leclerc had flying final laps which put them in the the top of the rung. 

In Q3 the story changed despite Hamilton’s first flying lap made him stand between the two McLaren, with Piastri on pole. Following the first flying laps, the gap between the top five and bottom five was glaring. While McLaren had a privisional 1 and 2, Piastri’s shot a at pole was missed when he made a constly mistake in the final turn, giving away some valuable seconds for the Verstappen to go for the pole position.