F1 2023 Silverstone Grand Prix starting grid with penalties applied

Max Verstappen will start on pole for Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but the drivers immediately around him are somewhat more of a surprise.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start second and third respectively, their recent upgrades working wonders to shoot them up the grid after an otherwise tricky season.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., second and third last time out at the Red Bull Ring, will start behind the surprisingly swift McLarens – followed by another pair of team-mates in George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso by himself in ninth broke up the string of back-to-back team-mates, with Lance Stroll down in 12th as the Aston Martin pair struggled to replicate their form from earlier in the season.

Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas dropped to last on the grid after failing to provide the stewards with a fuel sample after the session.

READ MORE: BOTH McLaren cars in top 3 in CRAZY Silverstone qualifying as Max on pole again

Perez struggles

The big loser from Saturday's session was Sergio Perez. Once again, the Mexican driver struggled for pace and was eliminated in Q1, his fifth race in a row without a top 10 start – kicking off Sunday's main event in 16th place.

Perez's struggles haven't been as bad in the Sunday races themselves at this point, dragging himself up the order often enough to still sit second in the drivers' championship. However, the closing gap between Red Bull and the chasing pack means that a comeback from 16th to the podium is unlikely.

The Mexican, for his part, said after the session: "My issues become more apparent in the changeable conditions. So I think it's something that as a team we need to get on top of and understand what we are able to do better. Simple as that.

"It's just a shame to lose out, you know, because we had a great Friday, the race pace was looking really good. So I think it started from the back. It's gonna be another race where we would try to minimise the damage."

Here is your confirmed starting grid:

READ MORE: F1 drivers out of contract: Hamilton heads select group

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