World champion Max Verstappen claimed a fifth consecutive pole position as his dominance of the 2023 Formula One season continued in qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
The Silverstone grandstands went wild when it briefly looked like British driver Lando Norris might pip Verstappen to first spot in the McLaren. But the Dutch driver put together a killer lap of 1 minute 26.720 seconds, edging out Norris by 0.241 seconds.
Rookie Oscar Piastri crowned a fabulous session for McLaren by claiming P3 behind Norris, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rounding out the top five.
It was a different story once again for Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez who was eliminated during a frantic Q1. It is the fifth race weekend in succession where he has failed to make Q3.
Changing weather conditions and a red flag when Kevin Magnussen's Haas came to a halt played havoc with many drivers' best-laid plans. The drivers restarted with three minutes of Q1 remaining, meaning an effective hot-lap shootout as the track dried and Perez found himself edged down into 16th.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the Austrian Grand Prix
British Grand Prix F1 qualifying results
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 minute 26.720 seconds |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.241 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.372 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.416 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.428 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.435 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.491 |
| 8 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.810 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.939 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.969 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | — |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | — |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | — |
| 14 | Lorgan Sargeant | Williams | — |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | — |
| 16 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | — |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTaur | — |
| 18 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | — |
| 19 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | — |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | — |
British Grand Prix F1 qualifying as it happened
END OF Q3: Lando Norris on to provisional pole and the grandstand goes wild!!!! Hold you applause, though, Verstappen comes through for his fifth consecutive start in P1. McLaren are second and third with Piastri tucking in behind Norris to end a phenomenal session for them. Leclerc and Sainz in the Ferraris belatedly got it together to qualify ahead of Russell and Hamilton in the Mercedes.
6 mins to go in Q3: Halfway through the session and Verstappen is fastest from Hamilton, Piastri and the two Ferraris. Remember, Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull bombed out in a frantic Q1.
12 mins to go in Q3: Here we go then, the 10-driver shootout. The sun is out. Will it stay that way for the next 12 minutes?
DRIVERS ELIMINATED IN Q2: Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Logan Sargeant (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
END OF Q2: Verstappen goes quickest by just over three-tenths of a second. Piastri up into second, ahead of McLaren team-mate Norris. Albon clocked in fourth in the Williams, but his team-mate Sargeant is one of the drivers who failed to make the cut. The McLaren's of Hamilton and Russell squeaked through in eighth and 10th.
3 mins to go in Q2: Norris flying in the McLaren. He goes fastest, ahead of Hamilton by half a second. British 1-2 as it stands.
5 mins to go in Q2: Verstappen goes quickest, half a second ahead of Alonso, only to get pipped by Piastri. The track is getting faster by the second and we're in for a dramatic finish to Q2.
10 mins to go in Q2: Norris is fastest again from Gasly, Verstappen. Piastri and Sainz.
15 mins to go in Q2: We're back underway. The sun is out but apparently there's more rain on the way. Let's see where the cards fall.
DRIVERS ELIMINATED IN Q1: Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri), Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
End of Q1: Sergio Perez is out in Q1! It's been a bit of a dismal run for the Red Bull driver, who was very briefly top of the time sheets as he registered the first hot lap after the enforced stoppage for Magnussen's crash. However, driver by driver, people went quicker than him and he finished down in 16th.
Magnussen will take P20 having inadvertently caused all the carnage. Zhou Guanyu in 18th in the Alfa Romeo with Alpha Tauri duo Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries either side of him.
After all that, Lando Norris remained quickest in the McLaren and three of the top four places went to British drivers, with Russell and Hamilton in third and fourth behind Leclerc. Verstappen was fifth fastest.
0 mins to go in Q1: Chaos here as the track dries out. Lando Norris goes quickest ahead of Albon. Basically, anyone who doesn't complete a hot lap here is in huge bother.
2 mins to go in Q1: We're moving. Can everyone who needs to get around for an out lap and a hot lap? It's going to be tight.
3 mins to go in Q1: We will be back underway in two minutes. To make all the clumsy drivers out there feel better, the best in the world, Max Verstappen, has just driven into the pit wall at very low speed and pranged his front wing.
3 mins to go in Q1: Right, Magnussen's Haas is on a truck and being driven away. We're almost good to go.
3 mins to go in Q1: Marshalls are working on shifting Magnussen's car. Until that's gone, we won't b doing a great deal. Magnussen is standing trackside waving to fans, so that's nice.
3 mins to go in Q1: Rain coming down now and Perez is into the pits. He's languishing dicily in 14th. It's a bit of a lottery now. Kevin Magnussen has stopped and we have a red flag with 3 minutes and 11 seconds remaining.
5 mins to go in Q1: Williams have been the story of the practice sessions so far but their cars do not like the rain. Right now Alex Albon and Josh Sargeant are down in the bottom five.
7 mins to go in Q1: Perez has hauled his Red Bull to 12th and is not happy with his tyre choice. It's a different story for Verstappen, who goes fastest ahead of Alonso and Russell.
10 mins to go in Q1: Hamilton and his grubby tyres are out of the bottom five. Sergio Perez in the Red Bull finds himself in unexpected peril down there. George Russell goes fastest. It looks nice and dry right now.
12 mins to go in Q1: Logan Sargeant has told the Williams crew that it's raining. So that's fun. Verstappen's lap has been deleted for exceeding the track limits. Fernando Alonso is faster ahead of the world champion and Lance Stroll.
15 mins to go in Q1: Lewis Hamilton spins heading into Stove. That's the risk on slicks around this track right now. Hamilton managed to keep his wheels rolling and got back on his way back out of the gravel. However, that's going to compromise his next bid for a hot lap. Verstappen is quickest head of Hamilton's teammate Russell.
18 mins to go in Q1: It's not raining right now. Tyre selection is going to be crucial here. Can the drivers get away with a slick lap. They're queued up at the end of the pit lane and off we go.
20 mins to start: Of course, a soggy qualifying session at Silverstone is nothing new. This is British summertime, after all. Last year, Carlos Sainz braved the rain to snatch pole from Verstappen. How Ferrari would love a repeat. They and everyone else in the field need some crumbs of encouragement in a season where Red Bull have won every single race and claimed eight out of nine poles.
40 mins to start: The forecast is for the rain to have stopped by the time qualifying starts at 15:00 BST, but the weather was filthy in FP3 this morning. Charles Leclerc was forced to sit out the afternoon session yesterday after Ferrari discovered an electrical problem with his car. It looked like the enforced break did him some good as he topped the FP3 time sheets ahead of Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso. Williams driver Albon has been in the top three in every session so far. Can he make it count in qualifying?
1 hour to start: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of qualifying for the British Grand Prix at a wet and grey Silverstone.
British Grand Prix F1 Practice result
It was a familiar story as Max Verstappen topped the time sheets in first and second practice at Silverstone on Friday.
The world champion only edged ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz by 0.022 seconds, with Williams' Alex Albon in third. It was a strong showing from Williams at their home Grand Prix, with Logan Sargeant fifth behind Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Charles Leclerc did not get on the track in the afternoon after Ferrari discovered an electrical problem with his car.
Mercedes and their British duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton headed into the race weekend with a new front wing but languished down in 12th and 15th.
What time does the British Grand Prix F1 start?
- Date: Sunday, July 9
- Start time: 3:00 p.m (Local) | 3:00 p.m (BST) | 10:00 a.m (ET) | 1:00 a.m (AEST, July 9)
Sunday's 2023 British is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. local time. Lights out will take place just after 10:00 a.m. ET.
What TV channel is the F1 on?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| TV Channel | Sky Sports F1 | ESPN/ABC | TSN (English); RDS (French) | Fox Sports |
Where can I live stream F1?
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| Live Stream | NOW TV / Sky Go app | ESPN+ | Fubo, TSN Direct | Kayo |
F1 season schedule 2023
In 2023, the Formula One Calendar will be made up on 23 races across four different continents.
The action began with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5 and will end on November 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Here's the latest schedule (subject to change):
| Date | Race |
| March 5 | Bahrain Grand Prix |
| March 19 | Saudi Arabia Grand Prix |
| April 2 | Australian Grand Prix |
| April 30 | Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
| May 7 | Miami Grand Prix |
| May 21 | Emilia Romagna Grand Prix |
| May 28 | Monaco Grand Prix |
| June 4 | Spanish Grand Prix |
| June 18 | Canadian Grand Prix |
| July 2 | Austrian Grand Prix |
| July 9 | British Grand Prix |
| July 23 | Hungarian Grand Prix |
| July 30 | Belgian Grand Prix |
| August 27 | Dutch Grand Prix |
| September 3 | Italian Grand Prix |
| September 17 | Singapore Grand Prix |
| September 24 | Japanese Grand Prix |
| October 8 | Qatari Grand Prix |
| October 22 | United States Grand Prix |
| October 29 | Mexican Grand Prix |
| November 5 | Brazilian Grand Prix |
| November 19 | Las Vegas Grand Prix |
| November 26 | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |