British GP Virtual Grid Walk: Max to conquer or Brits fight back?

Sunday, 06 July 2025 at 07:02

The British drivers, from three different teams, start from the top five on the grid for the 2025 British Grand Prix. It is a testament to the stupendous vein of Formula 1 talent the country has produced and continues to produce.

But there's the Max Verstappen factor. The four-time Formula 1 World Champion delivered a qualifying performance for the ages, stealing pole position not only from McLaren but also from last year’s winner, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Canadian Grand Prix winner George Russell, and Austria winner Lando Norris.

Verstappen, in his current form, is hard to bet against. The Dutch ace broke hearts at Silverstone in qualifying with a grand lap that took his tally of pole positions to 44. While the McLaren duo - Oscar Piastri starting from the front row in P2 and Norris in P3 - remain the favourites thanks to a dominant, fast-everywhere race car, Verstappen starts ahead.

Norris was stellar at the Red Bull Ring and will still fancy his chances for a home win. His main rival is Piastri, who leads the 2025 F1 world championship by 15 points heading into Round 12 today.

Russell lines up his Mercedes in P4 and will be looking to make amends for last year's DNF in front of his home fans. He led 17 laps in 2024. This year, he’ll want to be out front when the chequered flag waves at the end of Lap 52. It could happen.

Ferrari will seek to be better in the race

It's a Ferrari third row, with Hamilton in P5 and teammate Charles Leclerc in P6. The pair underperformed relative to expectations, but the SF-25 is solid and fast in race trim. A podium is a realistic target for both if the stars align for the Scuderia.

In fact, it’s hard to see the podium being made up of anyone outside the top six on the grid, barring outside interference.

And yes, the weather could be that interference. This time of year in the UK is famously unpredictable. Most of the week has been rainy at times, mostly cloudy and windy, requiring windbreakers and wellies. But there have also been scattered bursts of sunshine - shorts and T-shirt weather. In other words, it is fickle. Forecasts are unreliable.

If rain plays a role, expect the unexpected. We all know that in the wet, Verstappen is usually the benchmark. The question is: who can challenge the Red Bull driver, rain or shine?

Qualifying back-to-back: Alonso - 23 to Stroll - zero

The forever-young Fernando Alonso again showed what he can do in a reasonably handy car, starting in his Aston Martin P7 on the grid. If he can hang on to the pace-setting posse ahead, expect a show.

Pierre Gasly is pretty much flying the Alpine flag solo. From P8, he'd be happy to finish where he starts. Whether he does depends on what goes down in that volatile midfield. The Frenchman can be an incident magnet, but if he survives the hurly-burly of Lap 1, he could soldier on for a strong points haul.

Behind him, Carlos Sainz found more in the Williams than teammate Alex Albon for once. The Spaniard starts from P9, with the Thai driver down in P13. A strong result here would help make up for the team's embarrassing double DNF in Austria last weekend.

Starting P10, Kimi Antonelli paid the price of his entanglement with Verstappen and also wasn’t quite in the league of his Mercedes teammate Russell and will be looking to move forward from the heart of the midpack. Surviving that first lap will be the priority. From where he starts, it could be an incredible legacy drive for the teenager or a forgettable one. Watch this space.

Beyond the top ten, some other talking points:

Yuki Tsunoda starts from P11, in a car that was good enough for pole in Verstappen’s hands. He should be upwardly mobile if he can actually overtake. Big pressure on the Japanese driver, who would likely be out of the Red Bull system already if they had better alternatives.
Isack Hadjar (P12) outqualified Liam Lawson (P15) in the VCARBs.
Franco Colapinto continues to prove he’s not ready for Formula 1. After crashing, he lines up P20 or will start from the pit lane. The Alpine rookie is not the real deal just yet and is heading toward becoming the most expensive rookie flop of all time.
And last, and least, Lance Stroll. Just rubbish relative to Alonso. The Aston Martin “Daddy’s boy” is overstaying his welcome with no end in sight. He now trails his teammate 0 to 23 in qualifying.

British Grand Prix Facts & Statistics by Reuters

Round 12, 2025 Formula 1 World Championship
Lap distance: 5.891km. Total distance: 306.198km (52 laps)
2024 pole position: George Russell (Britain) Mercedes one minute 25.819 seconds.
2024 race winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes
Race lap record: Max Verstappen (Netherlands), 1:27.097 (Red Bull, 2020)
Start time: 1400 GMT (1500 local)
Sunday’s race will be the 76th British Grand Prix since the championship started in 1950, and is on the fifth longest track on the calendar.
Four British drivers are on the grid, three of them race winners — Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes’s George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris. The fourth is Haas’s Oliver Bearman.
Williams’s Alex Albon, although British born, races with a Thai licence.
Hamilton has won a record nine times.
The Ferrari driver has been on pole seven times at Silverstone and on the podium 14 times. No driver has been on the podium more at a home race.
Every winner has started from fourth or higher since 2000 and Mercedes have won nine of the last 12.
Four current drivers have won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone: Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024), Fernando Alonso (2006, 2011), Carlos Sainz (2022) and Verstappen (2023).
Verstappen also won what was designated the ’70th anniversary race’ at the circuit in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time Silverstone had hosted two rounds in a single season.
With Italy, Britain is one of two ever-present races on the calendar. This year’s will be the 59th held at Silverstone.
Ferrari have won the British GP 18 times.

2025 F1 World Championship

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri leads the drivers’ championship by 15 points from teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen is 61 points behind Piastri.
Leaders and champions McLaren are 207 points clear of Ferrari, with Mercedes a further point adrift.
Piastri has won five of 10 races this season, Norris three, Verstappen two and Russell one.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton has a record 105 career victories from 367 starts. Verstappen has won 65 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Michael Schumacher on 91.
Piastri and Norris both have seven career wins.
McLaren have had four one-two finishes this season, their most since 2007. They have won eight of 11 races.
Piastri has been on pole four times this season, Verstappen and Norris three times each and Russell once.
Norris has started on the front row in six of 11.
Both McLaren drivers have finished on the podium nine times in 2025.
Charles Leclerc’s second place in Monaco was Ferrari’s best of the season so far. The Monegasque has been on the podium in three of the last four races.
Piastri is the only driver to have scored in every race this season, with Norris’s run ending after a late collision with his teammate in Canada and Verstappen’s after a collision with Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli in Austria.
Piastri has scored for 37 race weekends in a row, if sprints are included.
Only one driver on the grid has yet to score — Alpine rookie Franco Colapinto.
Red Bull’s 77-race scoring streak, four short of Ferrari’s record, ended in Austria. Verstappen had been on a 31-race points run.

F1 Grand Prix