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SILVERSTONE: Carlos Sainz edged out Max Verstappen to claim the first pole position of his Formula One career for today’s British Grand Prix.
In the rain at Silverstone on Saturday, Ferrari’s Sainz excelled to see off world champion Verstappen by just 0.072 seconds with Charles Leclerc third in the other scarlet car.
The Ferrari driver started on pole, but looked short of pace and was passed by championship leader Max Verstappen early in the race.
That came after a dramatic opening lap, with Zhou Guanyu stretchered from the racetrack after his car flipped over following a multi-car tangle.
A puncture put paid to Verstappen’s chances, and a host of drivers had their hands on victory at various stages.
A safety car tipped the balance back in favour of Ferrari, and Sainz jumped team-mate Charles Leclerc and raced away for his first victory in Formula One.
As Sainz raced away, Sergio Perez took second – with Lewis Hamilton thrilling the home crowd with a podium finish in his Mercedes.
“Thanks everyone for staying out there in this rain,” said Sainz. “Spaniards struggle with the rain, but you guys are used to it. I put together a lap, I did not think it was something special, but it was pole position and that came as a bit of a surprise. The pace has been there all weekend, but if I base myself on my practice pace, we should be in a good position to hold on to first.
Top 10
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Mick Schumacher (Haas)
- Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Red-flagged after horror crash
Zhou Guanyu, George Russell and Alex Albon were all involved in a crash on the opening lap of the Birtish Grand Prix, with all three drivers out of the race before it had even begun.
Thankfully, all three drivers were okay, although there was some initial worry for the Chinese driver who came off the worst from the crash.
He was turned upside down and stuck in the car for a prolonged period of time, with the race rightly being red-flagged instantly.
Zhou skidded across the track, into the gravel trap before winding up tangled up in the barrier.
There was plenty of worry around Silverstone and all the people tuning in around the world, Zhou was finally freed from his car and he was then stretchered away for further checks at the medical Centre, but he was moving and was conscious.
That’s two years in a row we’ve seen a high-speed horror crash at Silverstone after Max Verstappen’s crash last year on the opening lap also.
Further replays revealed the true extent of the dramatic accident as they showed Zhou actually bounced over the barrier and into the fence protecting the fans.
Thankfully, no fans seem to have been harmed either in what could’ve been a disastrous incident.