The Uralkali Haas F1 team drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin qualified 19th and 20th respectively for the first 100 km sprint event on Saturday, the result of which will then determine the starting grid for the British Grand Prix on Sunday, in which Round 10 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship will be hosted at the Silverstone Circuit, England.
Schumacher and Mazepin left the KO qualifying after Q1 – only the top 15 made it into Q2. Equipped with two sets of Pirelli P Zero Red Soft tires, the team wasted little time releasing the VF-21 at the beginning of the session. Schumacher opened his account with a 1: 29.846 followed by a 1: 29.549 in his first set. Mazepin scored a 1: 30.065 and then a 1: 29.940 before returning to the pits. With their second set of softs, Schumacher improved again with a tour of 1: 28.738, while Mazepin lost his best lap to 1: 29.051 – the rookies were on P19 and P20 for the sprint on Saturday.
To the delight of the British public, Lewis Hamilton took pole for the sprint with a flying lap of 1: 26.134 in the Mercedes – the seven-time F1 world champion 0.075 seconds faster than the current championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull races.
Before qualifying on Friday, the drivers only had a 60-minute free practice session to choose their cars around the 5.891-kilometer (3.66-mile) course, which encompasses 18 corners. Mazepin and Schumacher worked their way through a set of medium and two sets of softs with some basic run and qualification simulations. Schumacher’s fastest lap in FP1 was a 1: 29.227 (P17), with Mazepin recording a best time of 1: 29.808 (P19) – both drivers drove their hot laps on the soft rubber.
Nikita Mazepin: “It was one of our better qualifying performances in terms of the balance sheet. I think after a very frustrating second race in Austria it was good to get that. It feels a bit like Formula 2, which is where I come from. I have great memories of Formula 2 here last year when I won my first race. There is a lot in common and I have to say, I like this environment a lot. I really like the weekend in general and I think you just have to see how many people got out on a Friday, I’ve never seen that before in my life – so it was really cool to be out there. “
Mick Schumacher: “In a way it was positive because we made some changes that felt good, but unfortunately the pace we have is unfortunately all we have. Of course we could have improved here or there, but in general it wasn’t. ” possible to get into Q2. Even so, the work is not done yet. We will keep pushing, keep trying and keep working on ourselves. It was interesting to see how everyone was excited to try something new and I’m excited to see how Sprint Qualifying goes. It is an opportunity for us, if some cars have problems we can benefit from them. As long as we are in the race, we aim to start a little further ahead than now, so cross your fingers and let’s go forward. “
Günther Steiner: “It was a great day today at Silverstone with lots of spectators again and Lewis (Hamilton) on pole position for the sprint – fantastic for the sport. We did our best and nothing more was possible. We didn’t damage anything “, and now we’re preparing for tomorrow’s new sprint qualifying format. We will see if there is something for us. We will give our best.”
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