Verstappen wins maiden F1 Sprint to claim pole for British GP
Sports Desk, Jul 17 (EFE).- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) prevailed Saturday in the first-ever Formula One Sprint at the Silverstone Circuit to secure pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Great Britain.
The Dutchman, who started the 100km 17-lap sprint from P2, got an early jump on pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and never relinquished the lead.
Cheered on by most of the 110,000 people in the stands, British seven-time champion Hamilton made several attempts to overtake, but couldn’t get around the current leader in the driver standings and had to settle for second.
The other half of the Mercedes team, Valtteri Bottas of Finland, finished third, ahead of Monaco’s Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). The McLaren duo of Briton Lando Norris and Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo took the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Alpine), a two-time champion making his return to F1 after a stint in endurance racing that saw him win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, started from P11 and gained four places.
Alonso will start the Grand Prix in the fourth row alongside an old rival, German quadruple champion Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), who was eighth.
Brit George Russell (Williams) was the ninth-fastest in the sprint, followed in 10th place by France’s Esteban Ocon (Alpine).
Saturday’s result left Verstappen with 185 points, 33 more than Hamilton.
One potential worry for the Dutchman heading into Sunday will be status of teammate Sergio “Checo” Perez, as the Mexican spun and went off the track during the sprint and will start the Grand Prix from P20. EFE arh/dr
