Max Verstappen deprived Lewis Hamilton of pole position in Formula 1’s first sprint qualifying session, perfectly placing the Dutchman to stretch his championship advantage.

Max Verstappen has snatched pole position from Lewis Hamilton after beating the Briton in Formula 1’s first-ever sprint qualifying session at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen will start the British Grand Prix from pole after beating Lewis Hamilton in the first Formula 1 sprint qualifying session at Silverstone.

Hamilton was quickest in Friday qualifying to lead Verstappen off the front row, but the Dutchman’s start was sizzling — literally in the case of his brakes, which erupted in flames as he sat on the grid waiting for the lights to go out — to take the lead into the first turn from the tardy Briton.

Bottas even tried to pull alongside Hamilton, so slow was his getaway, but the Finn wasn’t far enough ahead to hold the line into Abbey and had to fall into line for third.

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Max Verstappen topped a subdued final practice session at the British Grand Prix ahead of Formula 1’s first-ever sprint qualifying session.

The Dutchman completed just 21 laps, the equal fewest of the field, before calling it a day. The weekend’s tweaked schedule, with parc ferme conditions starting during qualifying on Friday evening, means teams couldn’t substantively alter setup during Saturday practice, lending the 60-minute session relatively little meaning.

Verstappen’s best time, a 1m29.902s, was 0.375 quicker than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, though the Monegasque used the soft compound to rise to second place. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, followed in third a further 0.13s behind.

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Lewis Hamilton has topped his first qualifying session in five races in a nailbiting hour at the British Grand Prix.