2024 British Grand Prix: Russell Takes Pole in British 1-2-3

George Russell took an excellent pole position on Saturday at the 2024 British Grand Prix, leading a 1-2-3 of Briton’s with Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Lando Norris in third.

It was an excellent day at Silverstone for the British fans, but it wasn’t a great day for Oracle Red Bull Racing, Sergio Pérez will start on the last row while damage to Max Verstappen’s car meant he could only qualify fourth for Sunday’s grand prix. 

Nico Hülkenberg was a standout performer, while British born driver Alex Albon also qualified within the top ten.

Q1 – Wet to Dry conditions catch Sergio Pérez out as pressures intensifies on the Mexican

Q1 got underway with mixed weather conditions around the track. Despite not rain, the track was still wet at the start of the first qualifying session with gray clouds surrounding the circuit. Valtteri Bottas reported that a dry line was appearing on his out-lap, indicating the conditions were changing.

18 drivers were on track with just the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team pair of Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen staying in the garages, waiting for the dry conditions. Verstappen went quickest by four tenths ahead of Hamilton and Russell after the first run, with the track constantly improving. Norris then went second fastest, despite making a mistake on his push lap.

Bottas was the first driver to take the gamble onto the dry tyres, with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber taking a gamble with nine minutes to go. Daniel Ricciardo was having a difficult time of it, and after the first runs he was almost two seconds behind his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. 

The red flag came out in Q1 with seven minutes to go as Pérez went off at the exit of Copse, leaving the Mexican driver stuck in the gravel. While the red flag was out, there was a dark rain cloud coming onto the track, the cars were out queuing at the end of the pitlane to ensure they got a lap in. This was especially important for those in the bottom five.

Lance Stroll was noted for leaving the pitlane under red flag conditions, with that incident to be investigated after the session. Bottas was the first to set a time on the dry tyres and he went fastest by almost five seconds. The track just kept improving with times falling going into the final four minutes. 

Verstappen had a scary moment going onto the gravel at Copse, but unlike his teammate, the Dutchman managed to not get stuck. With two minutes to go, the rain was starting to come with drivers scrambling to get their laps in, with the likes of Verstappen at risk. Everyone was struggling going into copse corner, with Magnussen also having an off.

After loads of improvement on the final laps, Pierre Gasly, Perez, Esteban Ocon, Magnussen and Bottas found themselves in the bottom. Hülkenberg and Logan Sargeant managed to get themselves through to Q2, while it was a scary few moments for Norris as he stayed in the pits in the final three minutes – luckily the Briton got through in thirteenth. Both Visa Cash App RB’s got through, with Tsunoda in sixth and Ricciardo in tenth, which will be a relief for them after both drivers were in the bottom five before their final runs. 

Zhou Guanyu was eighth fastest in Q1 too, while Hamilton put half a second on his teammate at the front. 

A frantic qualifying at the British Grand Prix! – Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Q2 – Double RB Exit, another shock with Charles Leclerc missing out on the top ten shootout

Images were seen on the live feed during the break between Q1 and Q2 showing some damage on the underside of Verstappen’s car, following his excursion through the gravel. 

Alex Albon was the first car on track during Q2 setting the fast time before being replaced by Fernando Alonso at the top of the times, who is also set to be investigated for a pitlane infringement like his teammate.

Oscar Piastri then moved himself to the top of the times, while Verstappen could only manage fourth after the first runs. The Dutchman then got pushed down to fifth with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Norris trading the top spot.

Albon was impressing and the Williams Racing driver moved himself up to fourth, with Sargeant moving himself into the top ten too. Like the end of Q1, the track was constantly improving and evolving. Alonso was top of the times with seven minutes to go, ahead of Verstappen.

It was then the turn of Piastri to go fastest, two tenths ahead of Sainz in second. With track evolution clearing plays its part, Hülkenberg went top of the timesheets, with the Haas driver hoping for another Q3 appearance. The Mercedes then went into the top two, before Norris immediately went top. Going onto the final runs, Verstappen was in tenth, which was worrying for Red Bull but as we’ve become used to, the Dutchman managed to get the lap he needed to get through in sixth fastest. Stroll went quicker on his final lap, pushing Charles Leclerc out of qualifying.

Sargeant also missed out but it was a good effort from the American, who will start out twelfth on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Tsunoda and Ricciardo were knocked out of the session, with the RB’s unable to get themselves into the top ten – they’ll need a big effort tomorrow for points.

Zhou did better than what we’ve seen in recent weeks, but the Chinese driver could only secure fourteenth on the grid for Sunday’s British Grand Prix. The stand out performers during Q2 were undoubtedly Hülkenberg and Albon, who both reached Q3 for Haas and Williams respectively. It was also a good session for Aston Martin Armaco F1 Team too, as they both reached Q3, with Alonso the third fastest in Q2.

Norris and Russell were the top two as the checkered flag fell on the session

Q3 – Historic battle for pole ends in British 1-2-3

Norris went onto provisional pole, going faster than Piastri and Verstappen, while both Mercedes cars were on quick laps. Hamilton went second but it was Russell who moved onto provisional pole after the first runs, with three Britons in the top three.

Russell’s lap time of 1:26.024 was just +0.006s quicker than Norris’ lap, with Hamilton a further tenth and a half back. After the first runs, Hülkenberg was an impressive sixth, leaving him ahead of the only Scuderia Ferrari in Q3, Sainz.

Verstappen’s final attempt was only good enough for fourth. Hamilton then put himself on provisional pole, but it was Russell who took pole position for the British Grand Prix, with Norris not improving and boxing on his final lap.

Alonso starts tenth on the grid, with British born driver Albon in ninth. Stroll once again outqualifies his teammate to start eight, just behind Sainz. It was a season best qualifying result for Hülkenberg putting his Haas into sixth with an excellent showing.

Piastri will start fifth, with Verstappen only fourth after damage to his RB20 in Q1. Norris aborted his final lap but will start third and be part of a historic British 1-2-3, with Russell on pole and Hamilton joining him on the front row.

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	63	George Russell	MERCEDES	1:30.106	1:26.723	1:25.819	26
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	1:29.547	1:26.770	1:25.990	25
3	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:31.596	1:26.559	1:26.030	22
4	1	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT	1:31.342	1:26.796	1:26.203	24
5	81	Oscar Piastri	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:30.895	1:26.733	1:26.237	24
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	HAAS FERRARI	1:31.929	1:26.847	1:26.338	17
7	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	1:30.557	1:26.843	1:26.509	24
8	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:31.410	1:26.938	1:26.585	24
9	23	Alexander Albon	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:31.135	1:26.933	1:26.640	23
10	14	Fernando Alonso	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:31.264	1:26.730	1:26.917	24
11	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	1:30.496	1:27.097		18
12	2	Logan Sargeant	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:31.608	1:27.175		20
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB HONDA RBPT	1:30.994	1:27.269		17
14	24	Zhou Guanyu	KICK SAUBER FERRARI	1:31.190	1:27.867		22
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB HONDA RBPT	1:31.291	1:27.949		18
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	KICK SAUBER FERRARI	1:32.431			11
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	HAAS FERRARI	1:32.905			6
18	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT	1:34.557			11
19	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT	1:38.348			5
20	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPINE RENAULT	1:39.804			7