Sainz will start ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
British Grand Prix qualifying results: Sainz on pole from Verstappen
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz |  | 1'40.983 | 210.011 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |  | 1'41.055 | 0.072 | 209.861 |
| 3 |  Charles Leclerc |  | 1'41.298 | 0.315 | 209.358 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |  | 1'41.616 | 0.633 | 208.703 |
| 5 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | 1'41.995 | 1.012 | 207.927 |
| 6 | Lando Norris |  | 1'42.084 | 1.101 | 207.746 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |  | 1'42.116 | 1.133 | 207.681 |
| 8 | George Russell |  | 1'42.161 | 1.178 | 207.589 |
| 9 |  Zhou Guanyu |  | 1'42.719 | 1.736 | 206.462 |
| 10 |  Nicholas Latifi |  | 2'03.095 | 22.112 | 172.286 |
| 11 |  Pierre Gasly |  | 1'43.702 | 2.719 | 204.505 |
| 12 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | 1'44.232 | 3.249 | 203.465 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1'44.311 | 3.328 | 203.311 |
| 14 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | 1'44.355 | 3.372 | 203.225 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon |  | 1'45.190 | 4.207 | 201.612 |
| 16 |  Alex Albon |  | 1'42.078 | 1.095 | 207.758 |
| 17 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | 1'42.159 | 1.176 | 207.594 |
| 18 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | 1'42.666 | 1.683 | 206.568 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |  | 1'42.708 | 1.725 | 206.484 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll |  | 1'43.430 | 2.447 | 205.043 |
| View full results | |||||
What happened in British Grand Prix Q1?
A wet track prompted the majority of the field to hit the track early in case it rained more heavily. Leclerc set the early pace on intermediate tyres at 1m43.028s, swapping the top spot with Verstappen as the track began to dry.
George Russell (Mercedes) briefly went P1 on 1m41.743s, before Verstappen produced 1m40.452s, then 1m39.975s and finally a 1m39.129s to top the session by 0.717s over Leclerc.
Falling at the first hurdle were Alex Albon (in the upgraded Williams), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Lance Stroll (Aston).
British Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 10 | 1'39.129 | 213.939 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 11 | 1'39.846 | 0.717 | 0.717 | 212.403 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 11 | 1'40.028 | 0.899 | 0.182 | 212.016 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 11 | 1'40.190 | 1.061 | 0.162 | 211.673 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 11 | 1'40.428 | 1.299 | 0.238 | 211.172 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 10 | 1'40.521 | 1.392 | 0.093 | 210.976 |
| 7 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 11 | 1'40.791 | 1.662 | 0.270 | 210.411 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 11 | 1'41.396 | 2.267 | 0.605 | 209.156 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 10 | 1'41.515 | 2.386 | 0.119 | 208.910 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 8 | 1'41.598 | 2.469 | 0.083 | 208.740 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 11 | 1'41.680 | 2.551 | 0.082 | 208.571 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 8 | 1'41.730 | 2.601 | 0.050 | 208.469 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 10 | 1'41.893 | 2.764 | 0.163 | 208.135 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 10 | 1'41.933 | 2.804 | 0.040 | 208.054 |
| 15 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 11 | 1'41.998 | 2.869 | 0.065 | 207.921 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | 11 | 1'42.078 | 2.949 | 0.080 | 207.758 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 11 | 1'42.159 | 3.030 | 0.081 | 207.594 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 9 | 1'42.666 | 3.537 | 0.507 | 206.568 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 11 | 1'42.708 | 3.579 | 0.042 | 206.484 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 10 | 1'43.430 | 4.301 | 0.722 | 205.043 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in British Grand Prix Q2?
With more rain falling as the session began, Verstappen set the bar at 1m41.486s and then lowered the P1 time to 1m40.655s, four tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Conditions then got much worse, even catching out Verstappen who suffered a grassy off, which meant an end to any more improvements.
Knocked out at this point were Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).
British Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Hamilton
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 5 | 1'40.655 | 210.695 | ||
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 4 | 1'41.062 | 0.407 | 0.407 | 209.847 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 6 | 1'41.247 | 0.592 | 0.185 | 209.463 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 6 | 1'41.602 | 0.947 | 0.355 | 208.732 |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 4 | 1'41.725 | 1.070 | 0.123 | 208.479 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 8 | 1'41.821 | 1.166 | 0.096 | 208.283 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 8 | 1'42.209 | 1.554 | 0.388 | 207.492 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 8 | 1'42.513 | 1.858 | 0.304 | 206.877 |
| 9 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 9 | 1'42.640 | 1.985 | 0.127 | 206.621 |
| 10 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 8 | 1'43.273 | 2.618 | 0.633 | 205.354 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 8 | 1'43.702 | 3.047 | 0.429 | 204.505 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 9 | 1'44.232 | 3.577 | 0.530 | 203.465 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 9 | 1'44.311 | 3.656 | 0.079 | 203.311 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 8 | 1'44.355 | 3.700 | 0.044 | 203.225 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 9 | 1'45.190 | 4.535 | 0.835 | 201.612 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in British Grand Prix Q3?
The track remained wet as Leclerc set the bar at 1m50.297s, and Verstappen spun on his first flying lap. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) briefly grabbed P1 with 1m49.454s before Fernando Alonso (Alpine) took it on 1m46.227s.
Sainz set 1m46.098s before Leclerc beat him to P1 on 1m44.844s. Verstappen took P2 despite a trip over the kerbs at Club before getting it all together and taking provisional pole with 1m42.996s. Leclerc went P2, a quarter of a second down, and just 0.004s ahead of Hamilton.
As track conditions improved, Sainz and Leclerc took turns at the top, before Verstappen reset the bar at 1m41.055s.
As the chequered flag flew, Sainz grabbed his first ever F1 career pole with 1m40.983s, as Verstappen couldn’t improve on his final lap due to yellow flags after Leclerc spun.
Sergio Perez went fourth for Red Bull with his last lap effort, ahead of Hamilton, Lando Norris (McLaren), Alonso, Russell, Zhou and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).
British Grand Prix Q3 results: Sainz takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 9 | 1'40.983 | 210.011 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 9 | 1'41.055 | 0.072 | 0.072 | 209.861 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 9 | 1'41.298 | 0.315 | 0.243 | 209.358 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 8 | 1'41.616 | 0.633 | 0.318 | 208.703 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 8 | 1'41.995 | 1.012 | 0.379 | 207.927 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 8 | 1'42.084 | 1.101 | 0.089 | 207.746 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 7 | 1'42.116 | 1.133 | 0.032 | 207.681 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | 8 | 1'42.161 | 1.178 | 0.045 | 207.589 |
| 9 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 8 | 1'42.719 | 1.736 | 0.558 | 206.462 |
| 10 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 5 | 2'03.095 | 22.112 | 20.376 | 172.286 |
| View full results | |||||||
