Russell roars to British GP pole as Hamilton and Norris make F1 history

George Russell qualified on pole position for the British Grand Prix as fellow Britons Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris qualified in the first three places.

On provisional pole after the first Q3 runs by just 0.006s from Lando Norris, Russell improved to a 1:25.819 to earn a first home pole position with Mercedes team-mate Hamilton second having leap-frogged Norris. 

It is the first time since the 1968 South African Grand Prix when Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart did so that three Britons have taken the top three places on the grid. 

Russell is also the first Briton other than Hamilton to claim pole at the British GP since Damon Hill in 1996, and the ninth overall. 

The front-row lockout is also Mercedes’ 84th, breaking the joint-record it held with Ferrari as Max Verstappen took fourth in a damaged Red Bull following a Q1 off. 

Oscar Piastri took fifth for McLaren, with Nico Hulkenberg sixth ahead of Carlos Sainz.

Q3

After the first Q3 runs, Russell pumped in a 1:26.024 to lead Norris by 0.006s, with Hamilton 0.172s behind his team-mate. 

However, on the second runs, Norris could not improve on his lap and aborted, with Hamilton finding time to beat Russell by 0.034s to jump to what would have been an eighth Silverstone pole. 

However, Austria winner Russell roared through to bag a second pole of the season on a 1:25.819s to create the first British one-two-three on the grid in 56 years.

Leclerc falls in Q2

The shock of Q2 was the elimination of Charles Leclerc in 11th place, the Monegasque being bumped out at the death by Lance Stroll.

Leclerc fell by 0.159s as his poor weekend continued, with Logan Sargeant, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardo also falling. 

Up front, Norris topped the dry segment on a 1:26.559 from Russell and Alonso as Verstappen also squeaked through. 

The Red Bull driver was carrying significant damage after an off in Q1 through the gravel, but survived through in P6. 

Perez dumped in Q1

In Q1, the big name casualty was Perez who spun off shortly after the change to slick tyres at Copse corner.

A snap of oversteer sent the Red Bull driver wide in the tricky conditions, but he then spun in the run-off area and beached the RB20, qualifying with the 19th fastest time. 

Although rain did begin to fall again during the restart delay, the field were able to complete their laps on the soft tyres, with it being a case of last driver over the line to get the best conditions, although the DRS was disabled.

Hamilton topped the segment on a 1:29.547, over half-a-second clear of Russell in P2 as Verstappen survived an off of his own at Copse in the closing stages.

He fell as low as 15th and was on the bubble, but safely got through in 11th place with Norris in 13th, although the RB20 did pick up floor damage.

Perez was joined in the elimination zone by two-time Silverstone pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas in 16th, Kevin Magnussen in 17th, Esteban Ocon in 18th and Pierre Gasly in 20th.

Gasly was already due to start last following a complete power unit change and, under the rules, is required to start from the back of the field.