British Grand Prix: F1 Qualifying Results

British Grand Prix: F1 Qualifying Results

Would a wet Qualifying throw in some unexpected surprises?

James Fiorucci 4 min read

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Qualifying for the 2024 British Grand Prix got underway in damp conditions, resulting in numerous surprise grid positions.

George Russell led fellow Britons Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris in the final practice session earlier today (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

Following the drama that unfolded last weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, expectations are running high for an action-packed British Grand Prix around the iconic Silverstone Circuit.

Home favourite Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, made contact with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the closing stages around the Red Bull Ring, derailing both of their races. Despite initial hostilities, the pair have made up and look forward to competing wheel-to-wheel once again.

Norris has looked like the driver to beat so far this weekend, topping both free practice sessions on Friday. George Russell made it three out of three British drivers topping the timing screens in practice, as Mercedes look to close the gap to McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull ahead of them in the Constructors’ Standings.

Verstappen was noticeably absent from the top times in all sessions so far, but he almost always turns up the dial come Qualifying. Will he claim his ninth pole position of 2024, will a home hero take the cake or will another driver claim a surprise P1? Read on to find out.

Q1

While the circuit was still wet, the rain had stopped some time ago. Intermediate tyres would be required at the start of Q1, but would a few try and brave it out on the slicks?

Logan Sargeant was the first driver out on track, and the American duly placed his Williams FW46 on the top of timings with a 1:40.215 as the initial representative time.

With the circuit continuing to dry as the sun peeked out of the clouds, times began to tumble. Verstappen shot up to P1 with a 1:37.518, ahead of both Mercedes cars by around a quarter of a second. Norris slotted into P2 with a 1:37.607, but this would be nowhere near good enough to make it out of the first part of Qualifying.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was the first to come into the pits for a set of Soft tyres, which prompted several others to make the same strategic call. Meanwhile, Hamilton headed Russell in a Mercedes 1-2, with the former setting a 1:37.134 time.

Perez, who had also switched to slicks, spun his Red Bull through Copse corner and beached it in the gravel, bringing out the Red flags. He would no longer be able to take part in the remaining seven minutes of Q1; could he stay out of the bottom five positions?

With the track cleared, Qualifying got back underway although the rain had started to fall once again. DRS was also disabled, adding another layer of difficulty for drivers to improve their best times.

Valtteri Bottas was the first to set a time on the Soft tyre; three purple sectors put the Kick Sauber driver into first with a 1:32.431. The cameras focussed on Verstappen, who ran wide at Copse like his teammate but managed to keep his RB20 running.

After the first host of drivers had set their times on slicks, it was Oscar Piastri leading Norris in a McLaren 1-2. The rain continued to intensify, preventing many drivers from besting their previous times.

Verstappen kept it together on his second attempt to climb out of the drop zone as the rain came to an end, resulting in a flurry of good laps at the death. Yuki Tsunoda knocked Bottas out as the clock hit zero, while Kevin Magnussen, Esteban Ocon, Perez and Pierre Gasly also failed to make it out of the first part of Qualifying.

Eliminated:

16. Bottas

17. Magnussen

18. Ocon

19. Perez

20. Gasly

Q2

Williams were eager to get going at the start of Q2, as Albon led Sargeant this time round. The Thai driver set a time of a 1:27.983 with his teammate a second and a half slower.

Albon was knocked off the top of the timings by Fernando Alonso, who went over three tenths quicker than the Williams. Alonso was swiftly usurped by Piastri, Carlos Sainz then Norris, the McLaren driver with a 1:27.432.

The majority of the field opted to fuel for multiple hot laps as track conditions continued to improve. Leclerc complained of a lack of grip from his tyres as he languished in 14th position with seven minutes remaining. Alonso reclaimed P1 with a 1:27.279, while Verstappen moved from P10 to P2.

Piastri went purple in the middle sector to become the first driver to move into the 1:26s. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg impressed by going fastest overall with a 1:26.847, which was swiftly beaten by Russell and Hamilton, pushing Leclerc into the bottom five.

Leclerc soaked up the pressure by moving himself into seventh. Verstappen had to improve down in 12th, and he duly did so with a 1:26.796 which was good enough for P6.

However, a number of other drivers also improved at the very end which dropped Leclerc back down into the drop zone. A disastrous result for the Monegasque.

Eliminated:

11. Leclerc

12. Sargeant

13. Tsunoda

14. Zhou

15. Ricciardo

Q3

Work continued on Verstappen’s floor area before Q3 got underway, with damage a possibility following the Dutchman’s earlier excursion through the gravel.

Albon got the first fast lap on the board: a 1:27.008, which was beaten by Verstappen with a 1:26.350. But the defending Champion’s time on top was brief as both McLarens beat the Red Bull, Norris ahead of Piastri by over two tenths of a second.

Hamilton split the two McLarens before Russell beat them all to go onto provisional pole with a 1:26.024. One more chance left for the ten remaining drivers in Qualifying to go faster still.

As the chequered flag was waved, a stream of cars came into view to complete their push laps. Albon improved to eighth fastest, before Stroll claimed that position instead. Verstappen could only manage fourth, while Mercedes delighted the home crowd as Russel pipped Hamilton with a historic 1-2. Norris made it all-British top three.

Final classification

Feature Image Credit: @F1 on X

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