Max Verstappen was dominant throughout a rain-soaked qualifying session at Silverstone, but it was Carlos Sainz who sneaked in at the last moment to snatch pole for the British Grand Prix.
Sunday's race will be the Spaniard's 150th in Formula 1, and he will be starting it from the very front after a superb final lap pipped Verstappen, who could not improve in the final moments. Lewis Hamilton looked in close contention for pole for a while, but in the end had to settle for fifth behind Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
Lando Norris will start his home race from sixth, while the fourth row will be made up of veteran Fernando Alonso and George Russell. Zhou Guanyu will start ninth, while it was a remarkable session for Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, who made it to Q3 and starts Sunday's race from 10th.
The rain began to pour just a few moments before the start of Q1, though most of the drivers dealt with the conditions superbly. Valtteri Bottas was the only one to have a minor mishap, spinning early on in the session but causing no damage and requiring no assistance to get himself back facing the right direction.
And it didn't cost the Alfa Romeo man, who comfortably made it into Q2 alongside team-mate Zhou. Sebastian Vettel was the biggest name to fall in the first part of the session, with Lance Stroll also struggling in another Saturday to forget for Aston Martin.
There was a proud moment for Nicholas Latifi, who finally made it through to the second part of qualifying for the first time this season – knocking out Williams team-mate Alexander Albon in the process. Haas pair Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher were the other two drivers who failed to make it to Q2.
Despite some assumptions that the rain was going to ease, it appeared to get even heavier in the second part of the session. Sainz, who had failed to put in a banked lap, looked to be in trouble for a while, but found a good lap to avoid a shock qualifying result for the Ferrari man.
The likes of Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo were not so lucky, though, as they struggled to improve as the conditions worsened. Esteban Ocon was also another who was surprisingly knocked out, alongside AlphaTauri duo Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. Meanwhile, Latifi took advantage of the weather to seal a fairytale place in Q3.
A spin meant he never managed to set a competitive time in the final part of the session, and will start 10th. At the top of the timesheets, Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc were all scrapping for pole – but no-one saw Sainz coming and the Spaniard was left surprised himself as he was told he would lead an F1 race from the start for the first time ever.
Full 2022 British Grand Prix qualifying results
- Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull
- Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
- Sergio Perez – Red Bull
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- Fernando Alonso – Alpine
- George Russell – Mercedes
- Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo
- Nicholas Latifi – Williams
- Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri
- Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
- Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
- Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
- Esteban Ocon – Alpine
- Alexander Albon – Williams
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas
- Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
- Mick Schumacher – Haas
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
