NOW: Max Verstappen is on his way to a six-game winning streak. McLaren’s Lando Norris is chasing second place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Silverstone, England — Lando Norris crossed the finish line to set the fastest time of the day, causing a roar from the British crowd and celebrating the return of a once-familiar sight. A British driver takes pole position at the British Grand Prix. Then Max Verstappen yelled the line right behind Norris to take the lead.
“It’s always Max,” joked Norris. “He always ruins everyone’s everything.”
Will the smiles of Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, who qualified third, last until Sunday afternoon? Verstappen would have a lot to say about that. He has started from pole position for five races in a row, has won six in a row, and has his sights fixed on his eighth victory of the season. If he wins it, Red Bull will extend their unbeaten start to 10 wins out of 10.
Viewing method
time: The British Grand Prix starts at 10am Eastern time. (The global start time is here. )
tv set: The race will air on ESPN2 in the United States. Available for streaming on ESPN+. Pre-race coverage begins at 8:30am.Not in the US? Full list of F1 stations can be found here.
Sunday starting grid
Not surrendering pole position to Verstappen would not have spoiled what was arguably the best day of the season for McLaren. Norris will start second, one row ahead of teammate Piastri.
The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and the two Mercedes drivers of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are right behind the two McLarens. Therefore, the relatively inexperienced Norris, 23, and Piastri, 22, are expected to hit defense soon.
Star Struck
The most intriguing driver at Silverstone this weekend, the one that teams and fans alike want to keep an eye on, was fictional Sonny Hayes.
That’s the name of the character that actor Brad Pitt will play in the new F1 movie. Filming locations and encounters with people As part of our efforts to collect information, advice and race footage.
The team was enthusiastic about approaching this project. Lewis Hamilton is part of the production team, Red Bull’s Christian Horner met with filmmakers on Friday and Mercedes is also helping design a car for the fictional Apex Racing Team.
“We have been involved quite early on,” Mercedes’ Toto Wolff told reporters this week. “During our initial discussions, we put Brad through driving school in France, from F4 to formula cars, to help us with the story. I wanted it to be as realistic as possible.”
Pitt and co-star Damson Idris have been around the grid all week, so some time slots were set aside from the tight race schedule to allow filming on the track itself. To fully immerse the fake team in the real race, Silverstone officials even allowed the producers to set up Team 11’s garage next to Ferrari.
Race week in pictures
Storyline of the week
Can anyone catch Verstappen? There is currently no reliable evidence for this theory.
Will McLaren make money? A big day for McLaren on Saturday couldn’t be ruined if they couldn’t even surrender pole position to Verstappen. But he admitted he didn’t expect even Norris to keep pole position after setting the fastest time. “There are a lot of TV screens around the circuit,” he said. “I was trying to see everything possible. I was surprised how long I stayed in the top four. It just depended on when Max crossed the line. I think you’re a little surprised. But he didn’t expect us to be here, nor did I expect him to be here.”
Climate change protests? Lewis Hamilton has said he supports “peaceful” protests by climate activists who have already disrupted matches at Wimbledon and the Ashes cricket series this summer. But it’s a reenactment of last year’s British Grand Prix, which was attended by protesters. I ran to the railroad tracks and sat down He said it was unacceptable while the car was still running. “We believe in what people are fighting for and we are making that change as a sport,” Hamilton said Thursday. “But safety is key. We don’t want to be in danger, and we don’t want to put other people in danger.”
what they say
-
“It was more when Max made a mistake than when Max was faster than him.” Norrisabout how he set the fastest time in qualifying and then waited for the inevitable moment when Verstappen would beat it.
-
“I think it was a very good day for us.” — Verstappenevery day.
-
“No one can stop other teams from getting better.” — Mohammed bin SulayemWhen asked about suggestions that the rules should be changed to bring Red Bull’s dominant team back into the pack, the president of the auto racing governing body said:
-
“Q1 and Q2 were almost eliminated, but in Q3 the car was like a rocket ship.” — Oscar Piastriafter driving the McLaren in the second row.
Final race: Austrian GP
Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix on July 2nd with his fifth consecutive win. Pretend to be surprised by this fact.
Drivers’ Championship Standings
At this point, Verstappen will maintain the points lead until September even if he doesn’t race.