Max Verstappen overcomes mediocre Friday to secure pole position for the F1 British GP

Max Verstappen overcame a mediocre start to the race weekend by putting together a stunning pole position in the F1 British GP qualifying on Saturday, July 5. The Dutch driver's start to the race weekend was horrible, as the driver was just not happy with how the car was responding.

In both FP1 and FP2, the Dutch driver did not look comfortable in the Red Bull car whatsoever. Overnight, though, the team made changes and brought a lower downforce rear wing to the track, and that did appear to solve a lot of the issues. Max Verstappen had a better FP3 compared to Friday and was more or less in contention at the front.

In qualifying, however, it did seem that pole position was going to be contested between the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who could possibly face a challenge from Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. In the end, it was Red Bull's call to go out late that meant Max Verstappen had a clear track in front of him, which helped him nail both the first and the second sectors and just coast through the third.

Talking to Jolyon Palmer after securing pole position, the driver stated that the team was going to have some fun on Sunday. Verstappen said:

"It was tricky out there with the wind. It was shifting around a bit. These cars are extremely sensitive to it. That final lap was good enough. This is a proper track when you have to go flat out. You have to be really committed and it's really enjoyable."

He added:

"We are quite quick on the straight. We have to wait to see what tomorrow will do and if there's rain around or not. I'm happy with qualifying. It's a big boost for the team as well and I'm excited to go racing tomorrow. We'll try. We are going to go racing. We are going to have fun and try to do the best we can."

Max Verstappen looking forward to an exciting race amongst a lot of teams

Max Verstappen shared a very interesting observation about the cars at Silverstone, where he revealed that after upgrades, Ferrari appears to be a stronger car in corners but struggles on the straights, McLaren is a bit in the middle, while Red Bull is fast on the straights and slow in the corners. The Dutch driver was, however, looking forward to the race, as he told Sky Sports:

"Yesterday was quite tough and it was not looking great but the changes we made today helped a lot. In qualifying I thought we were close but not quite in the fight until the last lap when it all came together. The balance was a bit nicer and I could hang in there. We chose lower downforce and were naturally quicker in the straights. In the corners it was a bit more difficult."

He added,

"The new floor has worked well, I don't know how much it has given us but for sure it has worked. Everyone is pushing flat out to bring performance to the car. What is quite interesting is that Ferrari is incredibly quick in the corners, but slower on the straight, McLaren is in the middle overall and we are incredibly quick on the straight but slow int he corners. It can be quite interesting with how everything will work out. I hope for an exciting race between a lot of teams."

Max Verstappen has now accrued 44 pole positions in his career as he looks to close the gap in the title race on Sunday.