Max Verstappen will start the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on pole position, after a sensational final lap in qualifying which saw him leapfrog the McLarens and Ferraris, which looked likeliest to head the grid.
The Dutchman’s 1:24.892s was a tenth of a second ahead of second-placed Oscar Piastri, with the second McLaren of Lando Norris in third.
Lewis Hamilton, who looked a likely contender, had to settle for fifth, with George Russell taking fourth, but out-qualified team-mate Charles Leclerc, who will start sixth.
In the early part of Q1, it was Verstappen who set the early benchmark – a 1:26.041s – but was quickly outpaced by Piastri by four hundredths.
Alonso was also in the mix, half a tenth behind, with Norris, Russell and Hamilton all laying down reasonable laps behind.
The Saubers of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were so far rooted to the bottom of the pack, the German a second and a half off the fastest time.
Franco Colapinto did no favours of retaining his Alpine seat by dropping his car over the sausage kerbs on the exit of the final corner, and subsequently spinning into the gravel and nudging the tyre barrier.
As the dust quite literally settled, the Argentinian managed to extract his beached car from the gravel trap and back onto the circuit, but he stopped out on track soon afterwards, bringing out the red flag with seven minutes to go.
With Flavio Briatore placing his head in his hands on the pit wall, the faint noise of Jack Doohan licking his lips must surely have been heard within the Alpine ranks.
After a short delay to repair the barrier and sweep the gravel off the circuit, the session resumed with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda all in the danger zone.
Alex Albon elevated himself to third, as did Bearman, albeit aware his 10-place penalty would drop him down the order.
Antonelli took eighth place with just two minutes to go, as Leclerc neared the danger zone. But the Monegasque improved on his time and moved into ninth, with Hadjar taking eighth.
Carlos Sainz then took that position, with Pierre Gasly – now flying the Alpine flag solo – just scraped into Q2 to take 15th.
Lawson, Bortoleto, Lance Stroll and Hulkenberg all joined Colapinto out early, with Hamilton only just making it through in 14th.
Bearman’s 1:26.005s was enough to put him into Q2 despite the penalty, giving him half a chance of a good recovery job for the race.
Hamilton goes quickest in Q2 to set fans’ pulses racing
Q2 began frantically, with Verstappen going quickest early with a 1:25.316s, which was immediately matched exactly by Piastri.
Norris then moved into first by eight hundredths, with George Russell the nearest challenger in fourth, but three tenths behind.
Both Ferraris, Tsunoda, Antonelli and Gasly were all in the bottom five at the midway point, but Hamilton’s 11th place would be at the present moment enough to see him through due to Bearman’s penalty.
After a change to new tyres, all cars were back out on the track, but Ferrari and McLaren pairs first in the queue.
Ferrari’s urgency to get back out on track became evident, as Hamilton went quickest by five hundredths from Leclerc.
Antonelli moved up to eighth to secure his place in Q3, as Bearman’s sixth place ensured 16th by Sunday.
Gasly once again wrung enough out of the Alpine to make it into Q3, with Albon, Hadjar, Esteban Ocon and Tsunoda all joining Bearman out of the running. Sainz was 11th, but would be bumped up afterwards to ensure 10th on the grid.
Verstappen blindsides everyone with mega final lap
Piastri set the tone for the start of Q3, setting a 1:24.995s, almost two tenths up on Norris, with Verstappen a further tenth down.
Hamilton then took second, a fraction ahead of Norris but still over a tenth shy of Piastri’s time. With Leclerc keeping his powder dry in fifth, it seemed that either a McLaren or Ferrari would secure pole.
Norris led the train of cars back out for their final runs, but appeared to have little in the tank to haul his McLaren to pole, with Piastri going faster in the first sector.
But Norris improved significantly in the final sector, but narrowly missed out on Piastri, who looked set to better his time, but fluffed his lines on the exit of Club.
It was now down to Hamilton, but he too failed on the final run, and with Russell setting a 1:25.029s for third, it was only fourth.
Which became fifth, when who else better to spoil to British party, came along to take an unlikely pole.
Verstappen set a mega final lap to take pole with a 1:24.892s, coming from virtually nowhere to shock both the McLarens and Ferraris, reminding everyone that he was not going away just yet.
Leclerc was sixth, with Antonelli seventh, Alonso eighth and Gasly ninth. Bearman was a brilliant seventh on the road, perhaps making his penalty all the more frustrating.
READ MORE – F1 2025 British Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
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