Verstappen wary of Hamilton and Antonelli pace after third in British GP Sprint Qualifying

Max Verstappen has played down his chances of turning third on the grid into a British Grand Prix Sprint victory, admitting Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli appear too strong at the front after a tightly compressed SQ3 at Silverstone.

Verstappen expects pressure from behind

Hamilton’s Sprint pole, secured ahead of Antonelli, framed the competitive picture at Silverstone, and Verstappen’s own assessment was measured. For more on the front-row fight, read our report on how Hamilton beat Antonelli to British GP Sprint pole at Silverstone.

That battle is set to include Charles Leclerc and George Russell, who start fourth and fifth. Verstappen suggested both should be capable of matching their higher-placed team-mates on race pace, leaving him more exposed to pressure from behind than focused on attacking the front row.

Fine margins in a compressed top eight

Verstappen described SQ3 as a session decided on fine margins, saying Red Bull landed on the right side of a very narrow spread. He noted that third could easily have become sixth or seventh, underlining how little separated the leading group behind Hamilton and Antonelli.

A key factor was energy deployment around Silverstone. Verstappen’s data showed he deployed less than Hamilton and Antonelli exiting Woodcote and Stowe, but used more at the beginning of the lap and along the Hangar Straight. He also pointed to straight-line limitations and balance as areas still short of where he wants them.

“I think we’re still not where we want to be with cornering maybe a tiny bit, but also with deployment and stuff,” Verstappen said. “So there’s a few things to figure out to try and find more lap time. We’ll try to do that after the Sprint.”

Hadjar left frustrated by costly final sector

Isack Hadjar was just 0.138s slower than Verstappen but will start only eighth, illustrating the brutal compression inside the top eight. The Frenchman was matching Verstappen through the lap before losing time through Club corner, while he also admitted his launch into the lap was not ideal.

“I’m missing out on third, because I was just not quick enough on that final lap,” Hadjar said. “Max was able to do it, so I really want to look at what went wrong.”

Despite the frustration, Hadjar took encouragement from his overall driving level and believes tidying up small details could bring him closer in the Sprint.