- Max Verstappen secured the 27th pole position of his Formula 1 career in Britain.
- McLaren had a good qualifying, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualifying second and third.
- Qualifying was a mixed bag with tricky conditions.
The top three qualifiers for the 2023 British Grand Prix gave the crowd in attendance something to cheer about as the final result was left to the last moment of the session.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured his 27th career pole position, elevating himself into the top 10 all-time list. The Dutchman is on a stellar run of form, but admitted that the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri surprised him.
"It's been quite a crazy qualifying; it's been quite hectic, also quite slippery in some places," the defending two-time Formula 1 champion said.
"We did our laps, and then, in Q3, I was quite surprised to see (Norris and Piastri) there, but it's great for McLaren as well to be here. From our side, very happy, of course, to be on pole!"
Qualifying was run in mixed conditions, with a damp track making way for dry running and the edge-of-your-seat final moments.
Let's go, Norris!
Coming into the race weekend, Norris made it clear that he planned on being the highest-finishing British driver in Sunday's race. And for it to happen, he needed to have a strong qualifying.
After the initial Q3 runs, Verstappen was on provisional pole, but McLaren's lead driver took it for himself, albeit momentarily.
"I was close, you know!" Norris said after qualifying. "I was P1 in Q1, I was [P2] in Q2, and close - two-tenths - to P1 in Q3, so pretty insane, and my last lap was a good lap.
READ: British Grand Prix - Verstappen on pole, but Norris, Piastri steal show for McLaren
"To be second and third is pretty amazing for the whole team."
"It makes up for everything, you know," he said. "All the hard work that we've been putting in, especially here, with the new livery, a home race for the team and for myself."
Norris joked: "We couldn't have had a better result, apart from Max, again - he ruins everything! But the rest was pretty amazing, so a big thanks to everyone."
Norris missed out on pole by a mere 0.241 seconds.
Piastri on the rise
Though McLaren has not been competitive for a long time, the turn in pace is welcomed. And the updated car, which Norris and Piastri drove around Silverstone, is proving to be developed in the right direction.
Piastri, who looked at risk of an early elimination, quickly got his act together and made it into Q3, eventually qualifying third behind Verstappen and his teammate.
READ: Norris takes sarcastic jab at Verstappen's pole: 'He ruins everything for everyone!'
"What a qualifying session - we were almost out in Q1," the Australian said, referencing the early, slippering conditions. "Then the car was a rocket ship in Q2 and Q3, and I feel like I put a pretty good lap together.
"It's a massive result for the team as well, to be consistently… To have both of us up here is a mega result. Now we've got to try and stay there for Sunday!"
"Obviously, both of us have now got the new bits on our car, and they're working very well, so I can't thank the team for continuing to push. From where we were at the start of the season to where we are now is a massive step in the right direction."
