Verstappen: Pole was unexpected

Indeed, Verstappen was on the back foot in the final stage of qualifying, over two tenths slower than the provisional pole time set by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris even faster than him.

But then came crunch time, the final runs of Q3, as Red Bull opted to wait till the end, Verstappen being the last driver to head out on track for one final push.

With all other drivers finishing their laps, everyone waited for Verstappen, who posted two purple sectors, to take pole by over a tenth after a stonking lap, or, as the Dutchman himself says: Simply Lovely.

"I'm very happy to be on Pole today," the reigning Formula 1 champion said in Red Bull's qualifying report. "It was unexpected, as we had quite a tricky day yesterday, but I'm happy with our performance today."

Verstappen's RB21 was all over the place as action started for the British Grand Prix on Friday, but Red Bull came back with a different setup on Saturday—a low downforce setup only Max can handle—which turned the situation around.

Verstappen reflected: "It has been difficult this week, and we have tried a few things to fix both the understeer and oversteer we have been experiencing.

"In Qualifying, everyone was struggling with the wind and with the weather turning, but then we felt a lot more stable towards the end, and the balance was better. We ultimately had a lot lower downforce than the others so were quicker on the straight.

"We really put it together today in Q3 and on that final run," Verstappen went on. "In the first corner I could feel more grip and balance, and then this continued into turns six and seven.

"We were already three tenths up, and I really didn't want to make a mistake going into the final sector! It was also great to find the potential out of the upgrade, and this is a great boost for the Team.

"Tomorrow will be difficult," Verstappen said of his race prediction. "Tyre management is going to be important, as the wear has always been tough round here, so we hope we can be competitive and can hopefully give it a good go."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner hailed the job Verstappen did in qualifying as well as the work done by the team to sort out the issues with the car.

"It's always special to be at Silverstone, and what a lap!" Horner trumpeted. "Max was locked in, the whole Team were and I have to give a special thanks to them.

"We brought a few upgrades here, fine-tuned them over the past 24 hours, and then Max comes and delivers the best lap possible at a track that is all about aerodynamics.

"It was a tremendous performance," Horner added and concluded: "There is plenty to look forward to tomorrow."

Verstappen is running a low-downforce setup, which gives him an advantage on the straights but which may not be ideal if rain hits Silverstone during the race on Sunday.

However, the manner in which he handled the RB21 in the fast sections of Silverstone in qualifying shows he will have enough in reserve to deal with whatever is thrown at him in the race.