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George Russell and Lewis Hamilton lock out front row, Sergio Pérez falters at British GP george,russell,and,lewis,hamilton,lock,out,front,row,sergio,p,rez,falters,at,british,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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Given where the Formula 1 grid is this week, the three cars at the front of the grid simply feel right.

The British trio of George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris will start up front in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, with Russell on pole position as Mercedes locked out the front row during Saturday’s qualifying session. Norris, looking to rebound after a bitter result last week at the Austrian Grand Prix, will start third alongside Max Verstappen, who qualified fourth.

According to F1TV, it marks the first time the top three drivers on the grid at the historic Silverstone circuit are British drivers.

But the story is Mercedes.

This Silver Arrows got off to a slow start this season, but a series of upgrades the team began rolling out at the Miami Grand Prix have certainly delivered the improved performance they were seeking. Mercedes has been the hottest team over the last three race weekends — having scored 100 points over that stretch — and since Miami only McLaren has scored more points, 144 to the 132 posted by Mercedes.

That hot streak looks to continue this weekend.

“Nice one team,” exclaimed Russell as he crossed the line having put his W15 on pole position, knowing he and Hamilton had locked out the front row. “Race to win tomorrow.”

Whether the Silver Arrows can deliver a win tomorrow remains to be seen, and the fight at the front looks fascinating between the McLarens, the Mercedes duo, and an ever-lurking Verstappen starting fourth.

But make no mistake, Mercedes are back, and if they keep their streak of results alive on tomorrow, it could set things up for a fascinating second half of the season.

Here are the full results, as well as more winners and losers from a thrilling qualifying session at the British Grand Prix

Winners: McLaren

In terms of the big picture, Saturday was another strong day for McLaren.

Norris is set to start the British Grand Prix on the third row, right behind pole-sitter Russell in P3. When the lights go out tomorrow he will have a friendly face right behind him, as teammate Oscar Piastri qualified fifth and will be in Norris’ rear-view mirror at the start tomorrow.

Those starting positions give McLaren a tremendous chance to bring home another big haul of points in the British Grand Prix.

When I spoke with Oscar Piastri following his podium finish in the Monaco Grand Prix, the second-year driver told me in no uncertain terms that the F1 Constructors’ Championship is far from over, and that McLaren is in the fight.

“The Constructors’ [Championship] I would say is still open. We’re still a third of the way through the year. So it’s definitely still all to play for,” said Piastri to me back at the end of May.

“I think in the position I’m in in the driver’s standings, [I’m] probably not gonna win the Championship unless I really take it up a notch again. But I think in the Constructors’, we’re not out of contention for winning that,” added Piastri.

“So, that’s definitely the aim of the team.”

Much has been said and written about how Norris would respond following the late-stage incident with Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix. While their wheel touch ended Norris’ chances at a win at Red Bull Ring, Piastri’s ability to finish on the podium — combined with results from the F1 Sprint Race the day before — saw McLaren pull a few points closer to Red Bull in that potential title fight.

And with both Norris and Piastri starting inside the top five — while Verstappen will be alone at the front of the grid when the lights go out Sunday — McLaren is primed to do that again tomorrow.

Loser: Sergio Pérez

With just over seven minutes to go in Q1, the red flag flew.

Sergio Pérez was in the gravel.

The Red Bull driver was the first victim of the tricky conditions, as teams and drivers alike performed the cost-benefit analysis of slick tires versus the intermediates. While the track was drying out and there was a dry racing line taking shape, Pérez was one of the first drivers to make the change to slicks.

As he was winding his way around Silverstone on that set of slicks, he ran wide at Copse and found the gravel.

Despite his protests and pleas for a push, the crane eventually came out, and the driver reluctantly climbed out of his RB20, as a chagrined Christian Horner looked on from the pit wall.

On F1TV Jolyon Palmer summed it up as “nightmare” stuff for Pérez and Red Bull. “Oh no for Sergio Pérez,” said Palmer. “That is nightmare stuff for team and driver … this is off the back of what Christian Horner was saying yesterday they need a second driver in the fight … this is tough times for Sergio Përez.”

Complicating matters for the team when it comes to the Constructors’ Championship is that Verstappen could only qualify fourth, and will start alongside Norris and behind the Mercedes duo. That could mean Red Bull sees their rivals inch even closer in the Constructors’ standings by the time the checkered flag flies on Sunday.

But that is a team issue, returning to Pérez, the early end to his day comes at a critical time for the driver.

As Palmer and Ben Edwards noted, the incident comes as Pérez is under renewed pressure regarding his seat with the team. Not only has his mid-season swoon come as teams such as McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes have pulled closer to Red Bull in the standings, but this week brought renewed speculation about a potential driver change at Red Bull, despite Pérez’s new contract.

To the point about the standings, as we outlined earlier in the week Pérez has secured just 15 points since the Miami Grand Prix, miles off the 101 points added by Max Verstappen during that stretch. Pérez is dead last among the eight drivers from the top-four teams in the standings during that period of the calendar:

Driver Points Since Miami Grand Prix

Driver Points since Miami
Driver Points since Miami
Max Verstappen 101
George Russell 74
Lando Norris 73
Oscar Piastri 71
Charles Leclerc 62
Lewis Hamilton 58
Carlos Sainz Jr. 52
Sergio Pérez 15

Pérez is set to start P19 in Sunday’s Grand Prix, thanks to a massive grid penalty handed down to Pierre Gasly for changing components.

But at this point, he might have bigger problems than a start at the back of the grid.

Winners: Williams

This was a week that Williams truly needed, and their best qualifying session of the 2024 campaign.

Alexander Albon advanced into Q3, posting the ninth-fastest time in the second segment of qualifying. He ended his third segment of qualifying in that position as well, and he will start inside the top ten on Sunday. Putting the team on track to bring home some much-needed points in Sunday’s main event.

“Yes very happy,” said Albon after qualifying.

As for Albon’s teammate Logan Sargeant, the lone American driver on the grid took to the track over the Fourth of July weekend sporting a Union Jack on his FW46 and facing continued speculation about his F1 future. But Sargeant advanced into Q2 for just the second time this season, and while he was eliminated in Q2 and is set to start P12, it was another positive sign for the young driver.

And perhaps of note, it marked the third time in the past five grands prix that he out-qualified Sergio Pérez.

It might not be enough to save his seat for next season, and interestingly enough Williams Team Principal James Vowles even opened the door to replacing Sargeant at some point this season earlier in the week. “We’re continually evaluating it,” said Vowles on Friday when asked about a potential mid-season change. “What we’ve said to Logan is it’s a meritocracy. You have to make sure you earn your place in the sport continuously. That’s been the same message that has been for 18 months really for him. And we are open-minded to things.”

Sargeant’s performance on Saturday might not save his seat for 2025, but it could keep him in the FW46 for a little while longer.

But for Williams, who are seeking their first points since Albon’s P9 at the Monaco Grand Prix, Saturday was a massive step in that direction.

Losers: Alpine

This was going to be a bad weekend at least for Pierre Gasly.

But things got worse for Alpine on Saturday.

Gasly’s British Grand Prix got off on the wrong foot as the team changed components on his A524. The team added the fifth Internal Combustion Engine, the fifth Turbo Charger, the fifth Motor Generator Unit – Heat, the fifth Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic, and the third Control Electronics.

As all five components were more than the allowed number per season under the Sporting Regulations, Gasly was hit with a ten-place grid drop, for a total penalty of 50 places on the grid.

As a result, he was locked into starting at the back of the grid on Sunday no matter what happened today.

That means if the team was to salvage something this weekend, their hopes likely rested with Esteban Ocon.

Who was eliminated in Q1.

Ocon perhaps fell victim to circumstances, as he noted after the checkered flag flew at the end of Q1 that his one push lap came just as the rain fell near the end of the segment, which threw the session into chaos. But he could not find the time he needed and is set to start at the back of the grid near his teammate.

Alpine has made substantial progress throughout this season, given where they began the 2024 F1 campaign. Recent results have pulled the team out of the basement, and into P8 in the Constructors’ Championship standings. They entered the British Grand Prix having scored points in four straight races, and five of the last six.

But given how their Sunday is shaping up, that streak is likely to end tomorrow.

Winner: Nico Hulkenberg

“[Nico] Hülkenberg is driving a blinder this weekend.”

That was the description from Jolyon Palmer from the F1TV commentary box, as the Haas driver stormed into Q3 and put his VF-24 onto the third row, as Hülkenberg qualified sixth for the British Grand Prix.

It is his best qualifying result of the 2024 season, as well as the best result for Haas this year.

Hülkenberg starting sixth gives the team a legitimate chance at carving into the advantage Visa Cash App RB F1 Team currently holds over them in the Constructors’ Championship standings. VCARB sits sixth in the Constructors’ standings entering the British Grand Prix, with 30 points on the season. Haas, meanwhile, is in seventh, 11 points adrift of VCARB in the Constructors’ table.

But, hypothetically, should Hülkenberg manage to finish where he starts tomorrow, a P6 would see Haas add eight points to their account, bringing their season total to 27. With both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda starting outside the top ten, that would pull Haas to within three points of VCARB for sixth.

Which would be a massive result for the team.

Of course, there is a long way to go before points are handed out at Silverstone, but this was a tremendous day for Hülkenberg, and Haas.

Loser: Charles Leclerc

Ferrari has been on the back foot all week, and that continued on Saturday.

Charles Leclerc bore the brunt of things, as he failed to advance into Q3 and is slated to start the main event alongside Logan Sargeant in P11.

Ferrari has struggled in the wake of Leclerc’s breakthrough victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw the driver finally reach the top of the podium at his home race. Leclerc has scored just 12 points since that win at home, and the upgrades the team introduced following the Monaco Grand Prix have yet to deliver the improved performance Ferrari was seeking. While Carlos Sainz Jr. advanced to Q3 at Silverstone and scored a podium last week in Austria, Ferrari has slipped away from Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship standings since Monaco.

Starting from 11th Leclerc can certainly work his way into the points, but that is a small-picture issue. The bigger-picture question facing Leclerc — and Ferrari — is whether they can find the answers they need to the upgrades to the SF-24 introduced following Monaco.

Speaking with the media on Friday Leclerc indicated that the upgrades are doing what they expected, but it is a matter of getting the SF-24 into the right operating window to maximize the package. “We are still trying to work out where we need to set up the car in order to maximise the potential of those upgrades,” Leclerc told media on Friday. “Because, as I’ve said many times, the [performance] numbers that we were expecting from this upgrade is there.

“The upgrade is working the way it should be, but it’s more about where you run the car to optimise those numbers that we see that for now, we haven’t quite managed to do that. So we are still working on that.”

That work continues …

Paul George to 76ers rumors heat up after Clippers divorce announcement paul,george,to,ers,rumors,heat,up,after,clippers,divorce,announcement,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency

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The Philadelphia 76ers opened up more than $61 million in cap space this summer in an effort to lure another star to come play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. As NBA free agency opened on Sunday evening, there’s serious optimism that Philly is on the cusp of landing the top player on the market.

The Sixers are “strong frontrunners” to land Paul George in free agency, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. George and the Los Angeles Clippers have “moved on” from one another in free agency, according to Woj, opening the door for George to join a new team.

The Sixers are the only suitor for George ahead of his Sunday night meeting with Philadelphia, according to Clippers reporter Law Murray.

The Clippers have put out a statement on George’s departure even before he officially signs with a new team:

The Clippers cited the more punitive luxury tax thresholds under the new CBA in their statement on George’s exit. The threat of penalties for crossing the “second apron” also played a role in the Denver Nuggets losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic in free agency.

The Clippers had reportedly offered George a similar deal to Kawhi Leonard’s three-year, $153 million extension, but were unwilling to go to four years. George is seeking a four-year max contract.

The Clippers agreed to a two-year, $70 million extension with James Harden as free agency opened on Sunday.

Maxey is a restricted free agent this offseason, meaning the Sixers have the ability to match any contract he receives. Maxey is expected to re-sign with the Sixers after the franchise takes its big swings in free agency.

George is 34 years old, and is coming off another strong season with the Clippers where he averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game wiht 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range (on 7.9 attempts per game) and 90.7 percent free throw shooting.

We’ve already seen the New York Knicks load up to challenge the Boston Celtics with a bold trade for Mikal Bridges. Now that George is leaving the Clippers, it’s possible Philadelphia will form a third legitimate East contender.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix results: George Russell’s victory caps off three stunning weeks for Mercedes f,austrian,grand,prix,results,george,russell,s,victory,caps,off,three,stunning,weeks,for,mercedes,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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“It’s not over, until it’s over.’

Those were the words of Mercedes driver George Russell, as he spoke with his team just moments after taking the checkered flag at the Austrian Grand Prix in stunning fashion. One might be excused for believing there was some bewilderment behind Russell’s comment, given how the race stood just minutes prior. Russell was running in third, behind the climactic fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but he kept himself in striking distance, giving himself a chance to capitalize if something happened at the front.

Something did happen, a collision between Norris and Verstappen that ended the McLaren driver’s day and saw Verstappen limp back to the pits with a puncture of his own. The door was open for Russell, and the British driver barged through, capturing the second Grand Prix win of his Formula 1 career, and the first for Mercedes this season.

“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside immediately following his stunning victory. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”

Indeed it is an exciting time for the Silver Arrows. Mercedes struggled out of the gate this season, and arrived in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix just a few short weeks ago languishing in fourth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings.

They were a staggering 180 points behind first-place Red Bull, and 156 points behind Ferrari.

But then came signs of life. The first signs came at the Canadian Grand Prix when Russell captured pole position, and while he could not hold off at the front of the race he secured the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the year with a third-place finish, to go with a second place from Lewis Hamilton in the F1 Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton matched Russell’s P3 with one of his own in Barcelona.

Then came Sunday.

With Russell’s win and a fourth-place finish from Lewis Hamilton — along with their results from Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race — Mercedes banked another 45 points in the standings. Making them the hottest team on the grid over those three race weekends.

Here is what the teams at the top of the grid have done over this period:

Red Bull: 79
McLaren: 84
Ferrari: 39
Mercedes: 100

That has seen Mercedes cut not only into Red Bull’s lead over them, but pull to within 95 points of Ferrari up in second place.

A stunning turnaround for the Silver Arrows.

“Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end,” said Norris in the team’s post-race report. “I could see that Max [Verstappen] and Lando [Norris] were having a big battle. We were only just over ten seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise.

“I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.”

“It is a great feeling to get back on to the top step of the podium. It is a fantastic reward for the hard work and efforts of everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. We have taken good steps forward in recent races, and we are excited about what is still to come,” described Team Principal Toto Wolff. “We knew our outright pace today wouldn’t quite be enough to challenge for victory. We therefore made sure we [maximized] our race and were able to pick up the pieces, should anything happen. We enjoyed some good fortune but that is motor racing.”

On the other side of the garage Hamilton — whose fourth-place finish added another 12 points to that tally for the team — hailed the effort these past few weeks from the entire organization.

“Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result,” offered Hamilton. “They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front. We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts.”

The grid now shifts home for Mercedes, for next weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While the fight at the front — and the collision between Norris and Verstappen that opened the door for Russell in the first place — will likely dominate the headlines the surge from Mercedes is absolutely worthy of note.

A year ago it was McLaren who pulled off a surge of their own, rocketing up the Constructors’ Championship to ultimately finish fourth. Their turnaround showed its first signs of life in Austria, where Russell just captured Mercedes’ first win of the season.

The Silver Arrows showed their own signs of a turnaround a few weeks earlier than that. So it might be fair to ask: Just how high can Mercedes climb this year?

F1 results: George Russell seizes a stunning victory at the Austrian Grand Prix f,results,george,russell,seizes,a,stunning,victory,at,the,austrian,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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We should just take a moment to catch our breath.

At the start of the Spanish Grand Prix last week a fight at the front of the field between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris off the start opened the door for George Russell to sweep into the lead. However, as you know by now Verstappen eventually wound his way by Russell, holding off Norris down the stretch to capture the Spanish Grand Prix.

Something similar played out at Red Bull Ring on Sunday, but with a much different result.

For around 50 laps of the Austrian Grand Prix it seemed as if Max Verstappen was going to run away from the field, as the Red Bull driver had built a commanding lead over Lando Norris and the rest of the field. The feeling that the other ten teams, the other 19 drivers, and perhaps the overwhelming majority of fans watching around the world was one of dread, at the sight – and potential – that Verstappen was going to run away not just on this day, but over the rest of the days this season.

However, moments later the door opened, just a crack, and the fight was on.

A slow pit stop from Verstappen and Red Bull on Lap 51 – coupled with a much quicker stop from Norris and McLaren – opened that door. Red Bull struggled with the left rear tire on Verstappen’s RB20, leading to a pit stop of 6.5 seconds for Red Bull. McLaren bested that with a 2.9-second stop for Norris, and the two lumbered off pit lane with Norris nipping at Verstappen’s heels.

For over ten laps the two friends-turned-rivals battled it out pushing their machines, each other, and themselves to the absolute limits. At one point Norris got by Verstappen, but the overtake came off the track and the McLaren driver immediately gave the position back. Both drivers were all over the track – and their radio – griping to their teams and airing their frustrations as they pushed their machines to the limit.

Then, on 63, the simmering pot that was this fight between friends boiled over.

On Lap 63 the fight was renewed, and it ended poorly for both drivers. The two drivers came alongside each other and contact was made, with a disastrous result for both. Norris and Verstappen both limped back to the pits with punctures, bringing out the safety car and seeing another driver sweep into the lead.

George Russell.

As the laps ticked down Wolff looked on with a shy smile, seeing the silver and black W15 of Russell’s wind around the track. Oscar Piastri was more than two second behind, and Russell just needed to bring his W15 home to deliver his second-career victory.

He did just that.

“It’s not over, until it’s over,” declared Russell on the radio to his team after taking the checkered flag. “We wouldn’t have thought this in Bahrain. Well done.”

Starting at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes began a series of upgrades to the W15, their challenger for the 2024 season. Those upgrades have seen the team improve their performance in recent weeks, marked by their first grand prix podiums of the year. The first came from Russell in Montreal, and the second from Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona. But those were P3 finishes.

This is a win, the first for the team since Russell won in Brazil back in 2022.

“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”

Much will be said and written in the coming days about the fight between Norris and Verstappen, and whether these friends will see their relationship start to change given the fight at the sharp end of the grid. But on this day a winner emerged, and it was Russell, who fought to the very end and delivered a victory that Mercedes badly needed. A win that not only helps their standing in the Constructors’ Championship but also rewards the hours upon hours of work that the team has put in to solve the issues with the W15. At the Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton described the car at that point in the season to the media, including SB Nation, as being on a “knife’s edge.”

That edge is something very different right now.

And it might be enough to get Mercedes to the sharp end of the grid too.