Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed a maiden pole position after topping a wet Qualifying session for 2022 British Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen comfortably topped a dry FP3 and proceeded to dominate the opening two parts of a wet Qualifying session, yet was ultimately pipped by Carlos Sainz in Q3 as the Spaniard secured a maiden pole position ahead of his 150th Grand Prix start.
Great Britain’s home heroes – Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell meanwhile all qualified in the top ten to please British supporters at Silverstone.
Now here is a full roundup of FP3 and Qualifying.
FP3
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was first out on track in a relatively quiet start to FP3 as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon set the initial benchmark time of 1m 33.068 on soft tyres, which was bettered by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in the eighth minute as he went 0.010s quicker on mediums.
Lando Norris immediately displaced his teammate with 1m 31.939 but Charles Leclerc went top on soft tyres with 1m 29.452 a minute later, which went unchallenged until Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went top in the 21st minute with 1m 28.541 on soft tyres.
As attention switched to soft tyre Qualifying simulations mid-session due to uncertainty concerning rain showers, Verstappen lowered his benchmark to 1m 28.386 in the 31st minute with Leclerc 13 minutes later getting within 0.002s of the Dutch driver.
Eventually come the checkered flag, Verstappen emerged fastest with 1m 27.901 ahead of Red Bull teammate – Sergio Perez who was 0.410s slower in second ahead of Leclerc, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton who rounded out the top five.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 27.901 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.410 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.447 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.525 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.587 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.788 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 1.201 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 1.284 |
| 9 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 1.609 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 1.619 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.651 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.692 |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 1.851 |
| 14 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.879 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 1.984 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.991 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 2.138 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 2.392 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 2.588 |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 2.622 |
Qualifying
Q1
A heavy rain shower just minutes prior to the start of Qualifying led to everyone heading out on intermediate tyres, led by Nicholas Latifi who set the initial benchmark of 1m 52.555 but he was swiftly displaced by several drivers as Valtteri Bottas briefly spun at Vale.
Up front, Leclerc set the initial pace as he scrapped with Verstappen over the fastest lap with the latter winning out at the checkered flag with 1m 39.129 to top Q1.
Several drivers however found themselves scrapping for survival as the track evolved across the session with the following drivers sat in the elimination zone with five minutes left; Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly.
Once the checkered flag fell, Tsunoda, Ricciardo and Gasly all survived as Albon was knocked out in 16th place, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Vettel, Schumacher and Stroll.
Q2
Like in Q1, Latifi was first out on track as the rain intensity settled into a steady drizzle whilst the top teams held back before heading out onto the wet circuit.
The first-half of the session consequently saw everyone battling to deliver banker laps as Verstappen eventually emerged quickest with 1m 40.655 ahead of Hamilton.
Down in the elimination zone, Sainz, Latifi, Norris, Ricciardo and Ocon faced the drop at the halfway mark of the session, yet only Sainz, Latifi and Norris survived as Pierre Gasly, Bottas and Tsunoda were eliminated in 11-13th positions ahead of Ricciardo and Ocon.
Conditions meanwhile worsened throughout the last seven minutes with various drivers reporting visibility and aquaplaning issues.
Q3
Leclerc was first out on track for the final part of Qualifying ahead of Ferrari teammate – Sainz, as the rain began to settle amidst threats of further showers towards the end of session.
Verstappen however nearly lost the front of his Red Bull out of Vale at the end of his warm-up lap with Fernando Alonso posting 1m 46.227 to go top from Guanyu Zhou once opening laps were completed.
Leclerc then snatched top position ahead of Verstappen, Perez and Sainz moments later with 1m 44.844, with Alonso then going third on his second flier.
Verstappen on his third flier delivered 1m 42.996 to go fastest ahead of Hamilton, Russell and Norris, until Leclerc posted 1m 43.246 in the 10th minute to go second only to be displaced by Hamilton who went 0.027s shy of Verstappen.
Ultimately come the checkered flag, Sainz snatched his maiden F1 pole with 1m 40.983 to head Verstappen by 0.072s, as Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Russell, Zhou and Latifi rounded out the top ten.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1m 40.983 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.072 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.315 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.633 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 1.012 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 1.101 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 1.133 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 1.178 |
| 9 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 1.736 |
| 10 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 22.112 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1m 43.702 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 0.530 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 0.609 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 0.653 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.488 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1m 42.078 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 0.081 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 0.588 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 0.630 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.352 |
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