Northamptonshire, July 5 : Max Verstappen delivered a masterclass at Silverstone, clinching pole position for the 2025 British Grand Prix with a sensational lap of 1:24.892. The Red Bull ace left no room for error as he edged out McLaren's Oscar Piastri by just 0.103 seconds in a nail-biting Q3 shootout.

Piastri had looked set for his first pole of the season after topping the early Q3 timesheets, but a costly mistake on his final lap left the door open. Verstappen seized the opportunity with trademark precision, putting together a flawless final run to grab the top spot.

Lando Norris will line up third in the other McLaren, unable to improve on his initial time. Behind them, George Russell will start fourth for Mercedes, narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had briefly challenged the front-runners during the early phases of Q3.

Charles Leclerc will start sixth, while Mercedes' young star Kimi Antonelli finished seventh. Ollie Bearman qualified eighth but will drop down the grid due to a 10-place penalty for a red flag infringement in practice.

Fernando Alonso continued his consistent form for Aston Martin in ninth, while Pierre Gasly capped off a strong session for Alpine in tenth.

Further down, it was a disappointing session for Williams, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon only managing 11th and 14th. Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda found himself marooned in 12th, while Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar slotted into 13th.

The drama of Q1 saw Alpine's Franco Colapinto crash out at the final corner, triggering red flags and ending his session in last place. Eliminated alongside him were Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, and Hulkenberg.

All eyes now turn to Sunday's race, where Verstappen will aim to convert pole into another dominant victory.

Earlier in the day, Ollie Bearman was handed a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's British Grand Prix following a red flag infringement during the weekend's third and final practice hour. The session had already proven eventful for Bearman, the Haas driver earlier sparking a red flag after losing a piece of bodywork from his car out on track, which resulted in the marshals having to retrieve the part.

/IANS