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Mercedes Formula 1 drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will start the 2024 British Grand Prix on the front row, after beating McLaren and Red Bull to qualify one-two at Silverstone.

McLaren and Red Bull are generally considered to have the fastest cars in Formula 1 in 2024, but this is the second time in the past four races that Russell has taken a surprise pole position for Mercedes, underlining the improvements the team has made to its aerodynamic platform as the 2024 season progresses.

Team-mate Hamilton was also in contention for pole and briefly held the lead before Russell’s final lap of the session, with Russell showing slightly more confidence and commitment in the high-speed corners than Hamilton, and knocking the seven-time world champion off the top of the timesheets by 0.171 seconds.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was fastest in the second qualifying session and held provisional pole position for a while in the third qualifying session, but his final fast lap was spoiled by a big spin at Turn 3 which caused his rear tyres to overheat, so he cancelled his attempt to the pit lane without completing his attempt.

World championship leader Max Verstappen will start the race from fourth, after qualifying just under four-tenths of a second off Russell’s pole position time.

Verstappen’s Red Bull suffered extensive damage after hitting the floor at Coppes in the first qualifying session and sliding across the gravel. Red Bull repaired the floor during each subsequent qualifying stop, but Verstappen admitted he was still “slower in some corners than in practice”.

It is reasonable to assume that if it had not been for that incident he would have qualified on pole position, well ahead of the Mercedes drivers.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was just 0.034 seconds slower than Verstappen’s Red Bull in the third qualifying session, and Piastri also failed to improve his pace in the final qualifying session after starting his lap close to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, which improved Piastri’s straight-line speed but affected McLaren’s performance in the corners.

Nico Hulkenberg joins Piastri on the third row of the grid after a great performance in the heavily updated Haas.

Ferrari’s Sainz, who is using an older aerodynamic specification after Ferrari had problems with rebound with its latest package at Silverstone, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ Alex Albon and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso complete the top 10 on the grid.

Stroll was investigated for running a red light at the pit exit in the first round of qualifying, but the stewards were lenient and only gave Stroll a reprimand after he explained that he did not have time to react safely to the oncoming light and therefore thought it better to drive a slow lap back to the pits than risk a collision in the pit lane.

Alonso was also investigated for working with his team on his car in the fast lane of the pit lane in the first round of qualifying, but the stewards were again lenient given that it was a minor rule infringement, a common practice in the pit lane during red flag periods, and the fact that no advantage was gained or safety compromised.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Williams’ Logan Sargent, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda – who used a mix of old and new parts after difficulties getting that car’s latest aerodynamic package to work – Sauber’s Zhu Guanyu and RB2’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 15 on the grid.

The final five places on the grid belong to Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen – who has reverted to an old aero package after the last one was damaged in Friday practice – Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Like Verstappen, Perez spun off the track at Cops in the first round of qualifying while using slick tyres on a slippery track, but unlike Verstappen he was unable to prevent his Red Bull from sliding onto the gravel and getting stuck.

Gasly is the only driver to receive a grid penalty for this race, which was given to him for breaching his permitted quota of new engine components for the season.

Since this penalty was given before qualifying started, and Alpine struggled to compete at Silverstone, Gasly theoretically only took part in Q1 and was the slowest of all in qualifying anyway, so the penalty has no real impact on his starting position.

British Grand Prix Starting Order

1. George Russell (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9. Alex Albon (Williams)
10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
11. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
12. Logan Sargent (Williams)
13. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
14. Chu Guanyu (Sauber)
15. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
18. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
19. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
20. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)