Lewis Hamilton admitted his late mistake denied him a dream pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen came from nowhere to take his third pole of the year with a brilliant lap to silence the Silverstone crowd. Oscar Piastri finished second with McLaren team-mate and championship rival Lando Norris third.
George Russell will occupy fourth on the grid for Mercedes, while Hamilton – despite appearing to be in the mix for his 105th career pole and his first in Ferrari colours – finished only fifth.
Hamilton’s transfer from Mercedes to the Italian giants has so far failed to live up to its blockbuster billing, but the driver who has won the British Grand Prix a record nine times, was fastest in Q2, and then headed into the final runs in the decisive Q3 with only Piastri ahead of him. Silverstone held its breath.
However, disaster struck at the concluding right-hander when Hamilton ran ever so slightly off line. The error denied him at least a spot on the front row, and possibly even his first pole in 714 days, with the top five separated by only two tenths.
A downbeat Hamilton said: “I just had understeer at Turn 16 and lost the time that I had. It probably cost me at least a second. The lap was really, really nice, it was just that last corner.
“I don’t know if it was the kerb that sent me a little bit wide? I just lost it. It was just over a tenth so that would definitely have put me on the front row.
“The understeer is something that you get with this car. It is what you do when you are overdriving to get that extra bit of time.”
How did Max do that? 👏 pic.twitter.com/xXkSjJLq5b
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 5, 2025
Hamilton has failed to finish in the top three in his first 11 races as a Ferrari driver – the deepest he has ever gone into a season without a podium.
However, the seven-time world champion has an outside chance of changing that run, and extending his stunning record of stepping on to the rostrum in every race staged at Silverstone since 2014.
He will also take some comfort for out-qualifying Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, one spot behind him, for only the fourth time this year.
Hamilton continued: “I’ve got four really fast cars right in front of me. I want to go forwards if I can. I just want to be in the fight.”
Verstappen will line up from the front following a scintillating lap which allowed him to beat Piastri by 0.103 seconds with Norris third, 0.118 seconds adrift. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified only 12th.
Norris starts his home race 15 points behind Piastri in the world championship, and he will have to force himself ahead of his team-mate to prevent the Australian from extending his title advantage.
“I’m not going to be unhappy with third, although I’d love to have been on top here at Silverstone,” said Norris.
“It is going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle between all of us, and I am looking forward to it.”
