F1 British Grand Prix LIVE RESULTS: Verstappen to start from POLE ahead of Hamilton after sprint qualifying – latest

YOUR SAY

What were your thoughts on the first ever F1 sprint race? Let us know by voting below!

HAMILTON REACTION

Lewis Hamilton was audibly gutted after losing the sprint race to Max Verstappen.

He said after the historic event: “Every point counts, but I’m grateful to have finished and tomorrow we fight again.

“They’re just so strong, there was nothing I could do to hold onto him.

“They’ve done a great job with their engine, their starts are really good and we’ve lost a bit of performance in the starts.”

VERSCHOOR WINS F2 RACE

Richard Verschoor won the F2 race at the British Grand Prix, his first victory at that level.

The 20-year-old Dutchman was promoted from F3 at the beginning of the season and impressed in front of thousands of fans at Silverstone today.

Here’s Verschoor’s winning moment…

MORE ON RUSSELL

F1 bosses have explained their reason for punishing George Russell ahead of tomorrow’s British Grand Prix.

The Williams driver has been penalised for making contact with Ferrari star Carlos Sainz at turn six of the first lap.

Russell is alleged to have locked up and gone into Sainz, causing the latter to go into the grass and qualify in P11 – seven places behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The stewards ruling said: “Cars 63 [Russell] and 55 [Sainz] approached turn 6 with Car 63 on the inside, in the middle of the track, and Car 55 on the outside.

“Car 63 locked the front brakes briefly and then understeered towards the edge of the track at the exit of the turn and contacted Car 55, which was forced off the circuit and on to the grass.

“Car 63 is judged at fault for the incident.”

BREAKING NEWS – RUSSELL DROPS TO 12TH

George Russell has been given a three-place grid penalty ahead of the British Grand Prix.

The Williams driver had qualified in P9 – an impressive return considering team-mate Nicholas Latifi could manage only P17.

But he will now start the race in P12 for his role in the incident with Ferrari star Carlos Sainz during the F1 Sprint.

REMINDER – TOMORROW’S GRID

Here’s how the drivers line-up for the British Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon…

F1 CALENDAR 2021

F1 race organisers are certainly earning their salaries this year, with more changes to the calendar than in living memory.

Click here to see how the F1 calendar unfolds in 2021 with our race by race schedule

WHAT IS F1 SPRINT?

F1 Sprint finally happened TODAY at the British Grand Prix, with the new race format dazzling spectators and exciting the masses.

It’s set to be used three times this season – but how does it work?

Click here to find out more

VERSTAPPEN REACTION

Max Verstappen will start tomorrow’s British Grand Prix on pole.

He told the press: “Around here it is difficult to pass but we had a good start.

“I had a good fight with Lewis on the first lap, then we just tried to do our own pace. We were trying to push each other hard but you could see by the end of the race, the tyres were blistering hard.

“Nevertheless, Happy to have scored us three points. It’s a little bit funny to be stood here but you’ve scored a pole position, so we’ll take it. Again, it will be an exciting battle tomorrow.

“We start the race on lower fuel and then we can really push these cars through the faster corners, lap after lap, so it’s very hard on the tyres. But it’s the same for everyone, so we have to deal with it.

“We can’t touch the car. We are quick in corners, so hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. But the straight-line speed, after FP1, you can not make any changes, so it’s a bit tricky for us now, we’ll have to deal with it. I still think we can have a strong race.

“Big thank you to the fans. I know they are here for the British drivers, but it’s still great to see them cheering and giving support.”

BOTTAS REACTION

Valtteri Bottas has qualified P3 for the British Grand Prix.

He told the press: “We tried to do something different and the target was to try and get [Verstappen] in the first lap.

“It didn’t happen, I think he had a good start as well. In Turn One I was slightly blocked, I couldn’t really use the momentum but we tried.

“In the end, it’s nice to keep the place with the soft tyres, even though there was some blistering.

“Today shows that tomorrow is not going to be easy.

“If it’s going to be a bit warmer, then we might see more issues, but at least now we are definitely aware and anything can happen.”

YOUR VIEW

Come on then, let’s have the readers’ verdict!

DOUBLE DUTCH

Saturday has very much been a day for the Dutch at Silverstone.

The second F2 race was won by Richard Verschoor before Max Verstappen claimed F1 sprint qualifying.

Can a Brit win on home tarmac tomorrow?

REPORT

Catch the full lowdown from today’s sprint qualifying with Ben Hunt’s report here.

GOOD DAY FOR THE OTHER BRITS

Lando Norris starts fifth in tomorrow’s race with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo for company on the third row.

And while George Russell lost a place to finish ninth, he held his own and is well set for a shot at a point in the Grand Prix.

First, he’ll await the result of an investigation into his collision with Carlos Sainz on Lap 1.

FINAL STANDINGS

Here is how sprint qualifying ended, which will be tomorrow’s grid – barring any penalties.

TOO SOFT

Valtteri Bottas started on the softer tyre than the front two, but it provided little help in chasing them down.

He notes: “The target was to get [Max] at the start, it didn’t happen. But we tried and I still managed to keep the place.”

LEWIS REACTS

Lewis Hamilton is very audibly gutted after that, the sprint race certainly mattered to him.

He adds that qualifying on a Friday was great fun but that race may not have been great entertainment, with the Brit suggesting he’d keep a somewhat rejigged sprint format.

He says: “Every point counts, but I’m grateful to have finished and tomorrow we fight again.

“They’re just so strong, there was nothing I could do to hold onto him.

“They’ve done a great job with their engine, their starts are really good and we’ve lost a bit of performance in the starts.”

MAX THANKS THE FANS

There are no doubt a few Max Verstappen fans out at Silverstone.

The Dutchman says: “I know the British drivers have a bit more support but it’s been great to see and I want a great battle at the front.”

LORRY LOAD

The top-three drivers jump on a truck for a ‘victory lap’ around Silverstone, during which Jenson Button grabs their reaction.

Max Verstappen, donning his retro wreath, says: “We had a really good start and a good fight with Lewis.

“We tried to run our own race but they pushed us hard and our tyres were blistering quite bad towards the end.”

TOP TEN ON THE GRID FOR SUNDAY’S RACE

1. VER
2. HAM
3. BOT
4. LEC
5. NOR
6. RIC
7. ALO
8. VET
9. RUS
10. OCO

‘GOOD JOB’

Max Verstappen somewhat understated after claiming three points towards his first world title, one more than Lewis Hamilton took today.

He tells team radio: “That was nice.”

ALONSO HOLDS ON

Fernando Alonso takes seventh after making up four places in the race, a tally nobody could better.

Kimi Raikkonen, in 13th, also took four with Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon also gaining places.

VERSTAPPEN WINS

The first-ever F1 sprint qualifying crown goes to Max Verstappen!

PEREZ OUT

Sergio Perez is told to retire the car – he’s down in 18th after spinning across the gravel.

LAST LAP

The sprint qualifying is nearly over, about 25 minutes after it began.

Will there be any late drama?