Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton beat Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen during qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
As part of the introduction of Sprint, to be held on Saturday afternoon, the usual three-part qualifying session was shifted to Friday evening.
A crowd of 86,000 was in attendance, with Silverstone included as part of the UK’s Events Research Programme, following in the footsteps of EURO 2020 and Wimbledon.
In a tweak from the usual approach drivers were mandated to use only the Soft compound throughout the course of the session, which was held in hot and sunny conditions at a calm Silverstone.
While Hamilton finished the session in top spot he will not be credited with pole position for the fastest lap.
Instead pole position will officially be awarded to the victor of Saturday’s new Sprint, which will be contested across 17 laps, and set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.
Hamilton beats Verstappen for top spot
Verstappen, who leads the title race by 32 points, underlined his pace during practice, finishing seven-tenths clear of the opposition.
He maintained an advantage during Q1 but Hamilton turned the tables in Q2, providing a first glimpse at his and Mercedes’ potential.
Hamilton remained ahead through the first Q3 runs, setting a time of 1:26.134s, with Verstappen a couple of tenths further behind.
Hamilton was up on his second push lap but a mistake through Vale cost him crucial time and handed Verstappen an opening.
However Verstappen fell short by just 0.075s, much to the delight of the Silverstone crowd, who erupted in celebration of Hamilton’s top spot.
Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes while Charles Leclerc took fourth spot in the wake of Sergio Perez having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Perez finished the session in fifth place.
Three Britons in the top 10
The presence of Hamilton, and sixth-placed Lando Norris, inside the top 10 was not a shock – but they were joined by the outstanding George Russell.
Russell stunned by finishing Q2 in seventh position but maintained strong pace into Q3 as he qualified in eighth spot, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
It comes after Russell made Q3 in Williams colours for the first time in Austria.
Alpine dumped out in Q2
Neither Alpine driver made it through to the top 10 shootout as Fernando Alonso placed 11th, with Esteban Ocon 13th, split by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Antonio Giovinazzi was 14th, ahead of Lance Stroll, who struggled in Friday’s sole practice session and fared little better in qualifying.
AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda fell at the first hurdle, along with Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
Haas duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin were again adrift of the pack, seven-tenths away from making Q2, as the outfit’s low-key campaign continued.
Saturday’s 17-lap British Grand Prix Sprint is scheduled for 16:30 local time.
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