Max Verstappen says his third place in Sprint Qualifying for the British Grand Prix could “easily” have been sixth or seventh, with Red Bull still needing to find lap time. Verstappen said: "I think so, yeah [I'm happy to have made the top three]. I mean, for us, the outcome of SQ3 was very close. It could easily have been P3 or whatever, P6 or P7. But we were on the good side, so we were a bit closer. I think we're still not where we want to be – cornering, maybe a tiny bit, but also deployment and stuff, so a few things to figure out to try and find more lap time."




George Russell said he could not explain why he was so far off the pace in Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone, after taking only fifth on the grid and ending nearly four tenths down on surprise polesitter Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell said the car “felt quite okay” but that “relative lap time is just not really there”, calling it “kind of the story of the year”.

Senior Red Bull GmbH figures Oliver Mintzlaff and Mark Mateschitz are set to meet FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem during the British Grand Prix weekend, RacingNews365 reports. The meeting is expected to focus mainly on Red Bull’s involvement across various forms of motor racing beyond Formula 1, following talks Mintzlaff held with Ben Sulayem in Paris in June. RacingNews365 adds that the parties are also due to continue discussions around ADUO, after Red Bull was reportedly surprised its power unit was judged strongest on internal combustion engine output.

Charles Leclerc says he has “got to work on everything” after finishing fourth in Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone as Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton took Sprint pole. Charles Leclerc said: "I've got to work on everything really, but I think most importantly, it's just the feeling with this car. When you don't get quite the feeling then it's difficult to extract the lap time and to have the confidence of every Saturday going into Qualifying, in this case it's a Friday, and get to the limit of the car. I'm struggling just to be consistent, to be at my 100%."

Liam Lawson says Racing Bulls have been “quite aggressive” in their approach to Formula 1 weekends this season, after qualifying ninth for the sprint at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Liam Lawson said: "Yeah, it's good. Car is really good. It's been good all day. Honestly, we've barely changed anything, so that's something that's been really good for us recently. We've come to these weekends and been quite aggressive, and it's been working. So, it's a good starting position for tomorrow."

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says the team’s turnaround included removing a “blame culture” by building a “no-blame” environment focused on solving problems rather than pointing fingers. Brown said: "It's a no-blame culture. So when we have a problem, which we do, we tackle the problem, not the people. So it's a safe environment. We work together. And when I joined, people were blaming each other. It was like, 'Look, it's one car. So, can we learn how to work together?'"

Lando Norris said McLaren’s mechanics “did a good job” rescuing his Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone after damage to a front brake duct left his car “pretty shocking” until it was fixed ahead of SQ3. Norris said: "It was, actually, quite a lot more [impacting] than I thought. It was only for the final run that we managed to fix it. The guys did a good job fixing it for the final run. The car was just completely different and way better again. It felt pretty shocking for most of it, and it was just lucky that we managed to fix it, because it felt like a completely different car."


Oscar Piastri says rumours linking Max Verstappen with a move to McLaren “don’t mean much” to him because he is “very happy” where he is and has a contract in place with the team. Piastri said: "For me, it doesn't mean much. Obviously, Max is the talent that he is and looking around. I'm very happy with where I am. I've been told multiple times that the team are happy with me, and I trust them. So, for me, it doesn't really mean much. Obviously, I've got a contract in place as well. So definitely doesn't change anything."

Charles Leclerc said he is struggling to get the same “ease” and feeling from Ferrari’s SF-26 as he had last year, after qualifying fourth for the British Grand Prix Sprint at Silverstone. Leclerc said: "It's been quite a bit that I realised I didn't have the ease that I had last year with last year's car. Lewis is more often at 100 per cent of the potential of the car, which I'm not. When you don't get quite the feeling, then it's difficult to extract the lap time."
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari did not expect to be fighting for the front row at Silverstone, after the Briton took pole position for the Sprint in Sprint Qualifying. Hamilton said: "We didn't expect coming to Silverstone that we'd be competing for the front row, we really, really didn't, so this is an amazing surprise. I'm ecstatic. Not so easy when you've got these guys that can follow you and be close with the extra power potentially, but I'll do my best to keep them behind."




Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s prediction that it would be “six tenths off” on the straights at Silverstone “scared” him, before he took a surprise pole position for the British Grand Prix sprint. Hamilton said: "Yesterday they all scared me, they were like, we're going to be six tenths off in a straight line to these guys. And in the last race we really were four tenths off in a straight line. But today all of a sudden we're kind of there. I was like, is this real, are they going to turn it up in qualifying? But we are right there competing with them."

Championship-leading Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli said it was “a shame” to miss out on sprint pole for the British Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton beat him by 0.011 seconds in sprint qualifying at Silverstone. Antonelli said: "It was so, so close and it was a shame. SQ3 there was a little bit left on the table, but it was a decent lap and unfortunately it was super close to Lewis, but of course congrats to him."

Max Verstappen said Red Bull still have “a few things to figure out” to find lap time at Silverstone, as he prepares to start Saturday’s sprint race third behind Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen said: "I think we are still not where we want to be. Cornering, maybe a tiny bit but also deployment. A few things to figure out to try and find more lap time. We'll try to do that after the sprint."

Lando Norris said his sprint qualifying at Silverstone felt “pretty shocking” after brake duct damage on his McLaren left him fighting to get out of SQ2 before a late fix helped him recover to sixth on the grid. Norris said: "It felt pretty shocking for most of the session. Lucky we managed to fix it because it felt like a completely different car. But by the time I got the feeling for the final lap, I felt like we could have pushed way more."





Lewis Hamilton said he and Ferrari did not expect to be in the fight for the front row at Silverstone after taking Sprint pole for the British Grand Prix by 0.011 seconds from Kimi Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton said: "And the cars felt really great today, thanks to everyone back at the factory. As I said just continuing to push we've got tiny little bits here every single weekend we're showing up with something, just everyone's pushed to the max and so I'm grateful to really grateful to get that pole. So you know it won't always be like this but we didn't expect coming to Silverstone that we'd be competing for the front row, we really really didn't. So this is a an amazing surprise."




Williams’ Alex Albon and Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad have been summoned to the stewards at Silverstone after sprint qualifying, over alleged failures to follow the race director’s instructions. The pair are being investigated for an alleged breach of FIA International Sporting Code Article 12.2.1.i in combination with the race director’s competition notes, relating to “driving unnecessarily slowly” during qualifying. Albon’s hearing is scheduled for 17:50 local time, with Lindblad due at 18:10.
George Russell said he was “very surprised” by Ferrari’s pace on Friday at the British Grand Prix, after Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in sprint qualifying. Russell said: "Very surprised, they've been on the back foot with the PU and energy management. Here, they look the best. That's been a real surprise. We've always known they've had a great chassis. Some things aren't quite making sense. If I were to predict it, I would have said Ferrari to be quick last week and us to be quick this week."


“I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can't express to you how big a dream it is, and still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you. “And the car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max. “I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the session but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here. "We're ahead of a Mercedes and the Red Bull, they have so much power these guys. They've been doing amazing all year, the boys in blue (Mercedes) this weekend, these champs. But my team won't let up, they'll keep pushing, and that's what I'm so proud of. "It won't always be like this, but we didn't expect coming to Silverstone that we'd be competing for the front row, we really, really didn't. So, this is an amazing surprise. I'm ecstatic. "I think our pace was good. We did a short sort of longish run in practice, there wasn't a lot of time. But the car felt good there, so I think we should have a good race tomorrow.”



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