Max Verstappen claimed pole position for the fifth consecutive time, seizing the top spot from Lando Norris of McLaren at the end of qualifying for the British Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship on Saturday. Australian Oscar Piastri finished third, marking a strong performance for the former world champions McLaren, while Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the second row.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen's closest competitor for the title and a driver for Red Bull, failed to advance past the first qualifying session and ended up in 16th place. However, he will start from 15th after Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo was disqualified for not providing a one-liter sample of fuel used in his car. This marks the fifth consecutive time the Mexican driver has failed to qualify in the top ten.
Perez trails Verstappen by 81 points after nine rounds this season, in which Red Bull has won all races, and he faces a challenging task on Sunday. Red Bull has won the last ten races since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last season and is looking to equal McLaren's record of 11 consecutive wins set by the late Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988.
Norris appeared set to take pole position after recording a time of 1:26.961 in his final attempt, but Verstappen outpaced him by more than 0.2 seconds. The 23-year-old British driver joked in front of his friend Verstappen, saying, "It's Max, he ruins everything for everyone."
Verstappen is aiming for his sixth consecutive win and eighth this season as he confidently strides towards his third drivers' championship title. He commented on Norris and Piastri, saying, "It's great to see them here." McLaren's CEO Zak Brown expressed hope for his team to reach the podium, adding, "I don't think we can win the race, so we face a tough task tomorrow."
Carlos Sainz, last year's race winner with Ferrari, qualified fifth, followed by Mercedes duo George Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has won the race eight times, a record. Alexander Albon of Williams secured eighth place, followed by Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
