Formula 1’s new qualifying format has been introduced and the fans were finally able to see the first part take place.
With the traditional qualifying session taking place on Friday evening, it is Lewis Hamilton who will start the inaugural Formula 1 Saturday sprint race from the front, beating his championship rival – Max Verstappen – by 0.075s in what was an entertaining session which saw Hamilton thrill in front of his home crowd with some impressive times – including his winner of a 1:26.134s which was actually bettered by the man himself during the session before.
Hamilton was set to complete a faster lap before a very emphatic slide coming out of ‘The Vale’ put a halt to that, but his first lap in the final session was enough. Although, it is not done yet, Hamilton now has to ensure he can hold off Verstappen for 17 laps on Saturday afternoon to ensure the official pole position for Sunday’s main show.
Verstappen cut a frustrated figure post session and lamented ‘strange understeer’ as a cause for concern. Being comfortably quickest in the earlier practice session, Verstappen saw his advantage derail yet he still has another chance to start from pole come Sunday. Valtteri Bottas played a key role in helping his teammate achieve the fastest time by giving Hamilton a comfy slipstream, with the Finnish driver still able to line up in third.
Now, a gap of half a second separates the top three from the rest of the field. Yikes.
Which happens to be headed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who set an impressive time on his final run, but laps nearly seven tenths from pole. However, when it comes to the sprint race – Leclerc will be one to watch. Gunning for pole should be the objective considering he has nothing to lose compared to the ones in front of him.
Sergio Perez has trailed his Red Bull teammate through both Friday sessions and could only line up in fifth for the sprint race. The Mexican was able to set a time that eclipsed the one of Leclerc but found himself fall foul of track limits – dropping him a position.
The McLaren duo find themselves in 6th and 7th for Saturday’s event, with Lando Norris leading for the team. Daniel Ricciardo will have a smile on his face considering his recent struggles. A time of 1:26.899s saw the Aussie lap just 0.002s away from his British teammate. A strong showing for the team so far at their home event.
Another star show from Russell
George Russell delighted his and his team’s home crowd by placing his Williams not only in Q3 once again, but in eighth – beating Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel who line up in ninth and tenth. An impressive lap in the low 1:27s saw Russell advance to the final qualifying session and secure a top ten place on the grid. Somehow, Russell was able to drag his Williams into the 1:26s in front of a crowd who had all eyes on him. He had the track to himself with the full backing of the British crowd, and he did not let them down
Fernando Alonso again leads for the Alpine in 11th after narrowly missing out on Q3, with Esteban Ocon setting a time good enough for 13th – placing the leading AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly in a Alpine sandwich with the Frenchman setting a time in 12th.
Again, it does not mean much. They have 17 laps on Saturday to squabble for their official grid positions.
Further down the pack in 14th finds Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi who continues to have the beating of his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, in qualifying. The veteran found himself knocked out of Q1 for the fourth race in a row with 17th.
Lance Stroll suffered from a difficult Friday with the opening practice session being a true reflection of his pace. 15th on the grid is the best the Canadian driver could produce after scraping his way through to the second qualifying session.
And the driver who had to exit stage left for Stroll in Q1 was one Yuki Tsunoda. The rookie found himself a few tenths adrift of his teammate throughout the day and was unable to improve come qualifying. 16th is the best he could do.
The usual three at the back lived up to that title with Nicholas Latifi heading both Haas cars. Latifi was again left in the dust by Russell’s performance, lapping 1.3s from his teammate’s fastest time. Still, he does find himself half a second clear of the Haas pair who are a long away adrift.
However, despite being so far off the pace, somebody has to lead for Haas and again that person is Mick Schumacher who pipped his teammate, Nikita Mazepin, by nearly three tenths of a second. They both fill their places on the final row, but at least he can take some pride in his performance.
The Motorsport Formula 