Starting Grid for the First Ever F1 Sprint Race Qualifying at British GP

Saturday will witness F1 venturing into a new era, as the sport will flag off a sprint race qualifying for the very first time. The drivers unsurprisingly battled hard on Friday to put themselves in commanding positions to start the race. Ultimately, it was Lewis Hamilton who secured P1 ahead of his rival, Max Verstappen.

What’s more, the grid looks exemplary for incredible racing throughout the 100km event. So, let’s take a look at how the grid will look for Saturday’s much-awaited session.

How the top 10 looks like

Hamilton looked like the second-fastest driver over Q1 and Q2 but managed to unleash an entirely new level of performance in Q3. The Dutchman had no answers to the seven-time world champion’s pace, as he gave up on becoming the first-ever speed king in F1.

Behind the two championship rivals is Valtteri Bottas, who has yet again managed to keep himself up there with the title contenders. Alongside the Finn is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P4, locking out the second row.

Sergio Perez had his final Q3 lap time deleted, so the Mexican ended up in P5 alongside Lando Norris, who had enjoyed yet another brilliant qualifying session. The other McLaren driver, Daniel Ricciardo, finally flourished in qualifying, as the Australian will start the race from a commendable P7.

Then comes the ‘Mr. Qualifying’ George Russell, who embraced his best-ever qualifying session with Williams, by lining himself up in P8 at his home Grand Prix ahead of Carlos Sainz. Ultimately, Sebastian Vettel will close out the top 10 for Aston Martin.

Read More: British GP Qualifying Report: Hamilton Takes F1 Pole But Russell Steals Limelight at Silverstone

The rest of the F1 grid

Certain drivers failed to make it into Q3 despite looking like favorites through most parts of the session. One of them is Fernando Alonso, who lines up in P11. Pierre Gasly will start the race from P12, sandwiched by the other Alpine of Esteban Ocon in P13.

Antonio Giovinazzi pulled off yet another impressive qualifying outing for Alfa Romeo, as the Italian beat Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll to secure P14.

Behind Giovinazzi will be Yuki Tsunoda; the young Japanese driver struggled quite a lot as he failed to make it into Q2. Hence, the AlphaTauri driver will start the race from P16 ahead of the never-aging Kimi Raikkonen.

Nicholas Latifi managed to keep himself ahead of the Haas duo to lock out the ninth row on the grid. Then comes Mick Schumacher in P19, who, yet again, out-qualified his teammate, Nikita Mazepin.

Overall, an exciting sprint race looks to be on cards on Saturday. And there is no denying that the fans are in for a high-adrenaline 30 minutes of racing. So, who is ultimately going to secure pole position for Sunday’s race at the British Grand Prix?

Watch Story: What Are Sprint Races & Where Will They Be Held?