Max Verstappen secures British GP pole position

Red Bull driver seals fifth straight top spot during qualifying

Red Bull's Max Verstappen after clinching pole position for the British GP at Silverstone. Getty

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen grabbed pole position for the British Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Red Bull double world champion and runaway championship leader claimed his fifth straight pole in qualifying and will be joined on the front row for Sunday's race by Lando Norris for McLaren.

Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren will start on the second row alongside Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.

Verstappen's team mate and closest title rival Sergio Perez qualified only 16th, the fifth race in a row that the Mexican has failed to reach the top 10 shootout.

Perez is already 81 points behind Verstappen after nine races this season, all won by Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, one place behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.

"It was a crazy qualifying session and quite hectic," said Verstappen. "I was surprised to see those two [Norris and Piastri] there but it was great for McLaren. I am looking forward to tomorrow."

British driver Norris generated a huge roar from his home crowd when he topped the times with seconds to go only for Verstappen to nudge him out with his final flying lap.

"It's always Max. He always ruins everything for everyone," the McLaren man joked afterwards, drawing laughter from the pole-sitter.

Red Bull are seeking an 11th consecutive victory to equal the feat of McLaren in 1988.

Verstappen is hunting his sixth straight win but his first ever British Grand Prix victory at the eighth attempt.

Perez's dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen's Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of the track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive race in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest Formula One has ever seen.

Qualifying passed off without incident despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday's 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.