Max Verstappen beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to pole position for the British Grand Prix as the Red Bull driver triumphed in a thrilling qualifying contest at Silverstone.

The top three, along with both Ferraris, appeared to be in a five-way battle for pole going into the final runs of the session, but Verstappen was able to hold it together, while his rivals made errors in the challenging windy conditions, to set a leading time of 1:24.892s.

World championship leader Piastri, who had held provisional pole after the first runs in Q3, was just over a tenth back in second, while his nearest title challenger and team-mate Norris was just a further 0.015s behind in third.

George Russell had appeared completely out of contention for the leading positions with Mercedes struggling for the entire session, but made a remarkable improvement on his final run to finish fourth, just 0.137s behind Verstappen.

That meant Ferrari, who had been hugely impressive throughout practice, had to settle for the third row of the grid with Lewis Hamilton beating Charles Leclerc to fifth.

Verstappen’s hopes of winning a fifth successive drivers’ title suffered a major blow as a first-lap retirement at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix left him 61 points back from Piastri, with that disappointment followed by a week of speculation linking the Dutchman with a blockbuster switch to Mercedes next season.

However, in typical fashion, he put the potential distraction aside to offer a reminder that he will always be waiting to take advantage of any McLaren errors, even if that might not be enough to mount a serious title challenge.

Verstappen said: “It was tricky out there with the wind. It was shifting around a bit. These cars are extremely sensitive to it.

“That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track when you have to go flat out. You have to be really committed and it’s really enjoyable.

“I’m happy with qualifying. It’s a big boost for the team as well and I’m excited to go racing tomorrow.”

While he was disappointed to have failed to improve on his time on his final lap, Piastri could take consolation from qualifying ahead of Norris, as he seeks to extend his 15-point lead in the drivers’ standings.

“My first lap was mega,” Piastri said. “I was trying to think how I could go quicker and I didn’t.

“The last lap was a little bit messy but it’s been tight all weekend. A little bit (left) on table.”

Ferrari’s strength in practice had raised hope that they could achieve a first grand prix pole position of the season, but they bizarrely struggled as Hamilton was almost knocked out in Q1, before finally rediscovering some pace in the closing stages of Q2.

Hamilton has struggled to match Leclerc’s pace for much of his debut campaign with the Italian team, but at the track where he has a record nine wins, was Ferrari’s best bet for pole.

He was up on Piastri’s then-leading time after two sectors of his final run in Q3, but lost time in the final sector to miss out on what would have been his first grand prix front-row start for Ferrari.

Kimi Antonelli was seventh for Mercedes but will start from 10th as he serves a three-place grid penalty for running into Verstappen in Austria.

Oliver Bearman took an impressive eighth for Haas but will start from 18th after receiving a 10-place grid penalty for a bizarre final practice incident in which he accelerated under red flags before crashing on his way into the pit lane.

Fernando Alonso took advantage of Aston Martin’s upgrades to take ninth, while Pierre Gasly impressed by getting his Alpine into the top 10.

The future of Gasly’s under pressure team-mate Franco Colapinto appears even more uncertain after the Argentine spun into the gravel in Q1 before having to stop on track moments later, leaving him starting from the back of the grid.

Despite Verstappen’s excellence, his Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles continued as the Japanese driver finished 12th.

Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule

Sunday July 6
8.15am: F4 Race 2
9.25am: F3 Feature Race
11am: F2 Feature Race
1.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction*
6pm: Ted’s Notebook*

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.