Verstappen takes British GP pole as rivals stumble in high-pressure Silverstone qualifying

WORKING in the high-pressure environment  of a daily newspaper taught me a few tricks over the years: Don’t get flustered, concentrate, and focus, and all these especially when the tensions in the newsroom are boiling over.

Back when our title produced a daily print edition, the DFA team was exposed to merciless daily pressure. 

The pressure gauge would hit the red every day in the last 45 minutes before deadline. While we had to rush to get the paper to the printers before the clock ticked down, we could not afford to make mistakes – and guess what? It was then that the most silly mistakes were made.

The next day, the staff would face the lash of the editor for the stupid, mindless, rookie mistakes we made. It was pointless trying to argue that we were under pressure, because pressure was what we signed up for; that was part of the job! Our mistakes, our blunders were there, in black and white, for the world to see, roll their eyes at and ridicule.

I thought about this on Sunday morning, when I tried to get an update of how qualifying went ahead of Sunday afternoon’s Silverstone Formula One Grand Prix.

Pressure is pressure, it would seem

Reading the reports of what happened at qualifying reminded me of the near-misses and the blunders I let slip as a sub-editor – though one may have to reach to make that connection.

But let me explain: Many of the drivers, in final qualifying will lament the fact that, right at the end, when things mattered most, while they were looking good and on their way to a fantastic grid position, there was that one mistake, that miscalculation, that cost them a few places for Sunday’s start.

For Red Bull fans, they’d be happy to know that Max Verstappen took advantage of the blunders that other drivers made

Verstappen rode the pressure-cooker conditions to claim pole for Sunday’s race. The Dutchman stitched together a flawless final lap to edge out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, with a time of 1:24.892.

But what Verstappen got right, several others let slip. The final seconds of qualifying – when adrenaline is peaking and tyres are wearing thin – proved costly for more than a few. Piastri, who briefly held provisional pole, overcooked it on his last attempt. Norris, too, couldn’t improve. Charles Leclerc lost control in the final corners.

And Lewis Hamilton, who had shown promising pace throughout, admitted that a slight misjudgment in the last sector may have cost him a front-row start.

Execute when the chips are down

In qualifying, as in the newsroom, it’s not enough to be brilliant for 95% of the task – you have to be fully present, running at optimum when the chips are down.

“It was a pretty decent lap at the end and then I lost a bit of time in the last corner, which probably would have put me on the front row or at least third,” said Hamilton, who lines up fifth. “We were right on the knife edge … but I squeezed everything I could out of the car.”

Leclerc was less diplomatic. The Ferrari driver, once known for his Saturday sharpness, was scathing of himself. “I’m not doing the job,” he said. “That’s been the story of the season. I need to find back my rhythm in qualifying… I’m very frustrated with myself more than anything.”

Despite his sixth-place start, Leclerc isn’t optimistic about a podium: “It’s going to be very difficult.”

The emotions across the paddock were a mix of disappointment and determination. For Hamilton, the buzz of Silverstone and the support of the home crowd have given him hope: “Of course, I’ll dream of [a podium] tonight and try to execute tomorrow [Sunday].”

But while others dream, Verstappen seems to be scripting a familiar reality. The Red Bull driver rarely cracks under pressure – and heading into the race, he holds the upper hand. But if qualifying reminded us of anything, it’s that concentration is everything.

One slip, one mistimed sector, one gust of wind through the metaphorical newsroom – and it can all come undone.

So, the question for Sunday is simple: Can anyone stay flawless long enough to catch Verstappen?

Silverstone Starting Grid:

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:24.892
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:24.995
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:25.010
4. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:25.029
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:25.095
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:25.121
7. Andrea Kimi Antonelli* (Mercedes) 1:25.374
8. Oliver Bearman** (Haas) 1:25.471
9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:25.621
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:25.785

* Rookie driver

** Will take a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement in FP3