Just three drivers will start from where they qualified for the Sunday’s British Grand Prix, thanks to the new format which sees drivers qualify on Friday, before taking part in a short ‘Sprint’ event on Saturday, with that order then determining the grid for the main event.
As a result of sprint qualifying, the order has been shaken up a little, largely in part thanks to Sergio Perez’s mistake, which saw him spin whilst chasing Lando Norris. He drops from fifth to last place.
That has moved everyone below him up a place, but with plenty of other action going on at the same time, there are further changes, including at the very front, with Max Verstappen taking the official pole position after passing “Pirelli Speed King” Lewis Hamilton at the start.
The big gainers of the day were Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Kimi Raikkonen, who all gained four places each. Whilst Ocon only gained three of those during the sprint event, he gained one more after George Russell was handed a three-place grid penalty for a collision with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The biggest losers were of course Russell, who now starts outside the top ten despite that amazing qualifying performance on Friday, and, no surprise, Perez.
British Grand Prix: Starting Grid
| # | Driver | Team | Change from Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Up 1 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Down 1 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | No Change |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | No Change |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Up 1 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | Up 1 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | Up 4 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | Up 2 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | Up 4 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | Down 1 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | Up 1 |
| 12 | George Russell | Williams | Down 4 |
| 13 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Up 4 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Up 1 |
| 15 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Down 1 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | No Change |
| 17 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Up 1 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Up 1 |
| 19 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | Up 1 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | Down 15 |
Discussion about this post