World championship leader Max Verstappen on Saturday won Formula One’s inaugural sprint race to take pole position for yesterday’s British Grand Prix, but said it had been a “strange” experience.
The Red Bull driver finished the 100km dash around Silverstone Circuit ahead of defending world champion Lewis Hamilton with Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes in third place.
Verstappen has a 33-point lead over seven-time champion Hamilton, who was hoping to capture an eighth British Grand Prix triumph.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We were pushing each other hard as the tires were blistering a lot,” said Verstappen, who collected three points for his win after seeing off his rival by 1.4 seconds.
Hamilton took two and Bottas one.
“When I crossed the line after this race and I was told: ‘Good job, you have pole position,’ it was a bit strange,” the Dutch star added, as he reflected on the new Saturday format.
“What was great is that you start with less fuel, so the cars are faster and a little more lively” to complete the 17 laps rather than the 52 they have to cover for the “real” race.
Hamilton started the 17-lap sprint at the front of the grid, having topped qualifying on Friday, but was immediately passed by Verstappen. He said he would face a battle to secure a 99th career win in front of about 90,000 fans.
“It’s nice for the fans to have more races,” said Hamilton, who believes the weekend racing schedule needs a rethink.
He wants to see action only on Saturdays and Sundays.
“Removing one day — 23 days over the season of driving less which, obviously, would be better in ecological terms,” he said.
On Saturday’s sprint in particular, he added: “It was pretty much the same as the last races — you had to follow Max.”
Bottas shared Hamilton’s lack of optimism.
“We tried to do something different, and the target was to try and get Verstappen in the first lap. It didn’t happen,” the Finn said. “Today shows that tomorrow is not going to be easy. If it’s going to be a bit warmer, then we might see more issues.”
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