Russell beats Hamilton to pole at Silverstone as Norris completes all-British top three
SILVERSTONE, England — George Russell secured an outstanding pole position for the British Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes lockout of the front row with teammate Lewis Hamilton taking second place.
Russell, who had initially set the pace during the first runs of Q3, managed to further improve his performance. He clocked in a time of 1m 25.819s, placing him 0.171s ahead of Hamilton. Lando Norris completed an all-British top three by securing third for McLaren.
Max Verstappen could only muster fourth in his Red Bull, likely due to an earlier off-track excursion at Copse. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri claimed fifth for McLaren, and Nico Hulkenberg impressed by taking sixth for Haas, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso had a much-improved day compared to recent weekends, qualifying P8 and P10 respectively, with Williams' Alex Albon slotting between them in P9.
Read next ❯ Ferrari to reveal Hamilton's debut F1 car on February 19 at MaranelloFerrari’s Charles Leclerc had a frustrating session, finding himself eliminated in Q2, ending up in P11. He will start next to the Williams of Logan Sargeant, who achieved his best qualifying result of the year in P12.
Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo of RB struggled and finished 13th and 15th, with Zhou Guanyu's Kick Sauber sandwiched between them in 14th place.
Valtteri Bottas narrowly missed progressing to Q2 in the Kick Sauber, placing him in P16. The Haas of Kevin Magnussen followed in P17 after an off-track moment at Copse in the final minutes of his segment.
Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly experienced a tough session, finishing P18 and P20 respectively – though Gasly was already relegated to start from the back due to a penalty for new power unit elements. Red Bull's Sergio Perez endured a disastrous session after getting stuck in the gravel in the opening minutes, unable to rejoin and therefore lining up in P19.
