Red Bull’s Max Verstappen triumphed over championship rival Lewis Hamilton in the F1 Sprint to take pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who started the 17-lap race in second place, got the better start compared to Hamilton, jumping him into Turn 1.
The pair continued to battle on the opening lap, with Hamilton attempting to overtake around the outside of the high-speed Copse corner.
Verstappen weaved his car to break the slipstream further on in the lap, and after pulling himself out of DRS range, he dominated en route to pole.
Valtteri Bottas was third, and was one of just four drivers to use the Soft compound during the race.
Alonso stars on opening lap
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who started from 11th, also opted for the Soft tyres for the race.
The extra grip served him well, as he was able to rise to as high as fifth before his red-walled tyres began to lose performance.
Running behind Charles Leclerc, who ended up fourth for Sunday’s race, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo passed the two-time world champion, solidifying fifth and sixth on the grand prix grid for McLaren.
In the final stages, Sebastian Vettel attacked Alonso for seventh, but couldn’t pass his former rival, leaving him to settle for eighth.
George Russell was ninth, while Esteban Ocon claimed tenth position for the start of Sunday’s race at Silverstone.
Sainz recovers following opening lap contact
Carlos Sainz found himself towards the back of the field on the opening lap after he came into contact with Russell, with the latter placed under investigation.
The Spaniard was forced all the way back to 18th, however he carved his way through the field and recovered to 11th, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Kimi Raikkonen.
Sainz and Russell were not the only two who made contact – the Haas duo of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin collided on the opening lap, which sent Mazepin into a spin.
Perez to start grand prix from the back
Sergio Perez’s day ended in disaster after the Mexican spun while running in dirty air early in the race.
Although he kept his car out of the barriers at the exit of Chapel, a recovery drive failed to materialise, as he was running ahead of the Haas pair for the rest of the race in 18th.
Red Bull opted to retire the car prior to the finish, meaning this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner will be forced to start tomorrow’s race from the last spot on the grid.
[motorsport_result id=’68574′]
A shame Alonso isn’t in a top car. I think he’d be showing those little boys up front how it’s really done.