F1 British Grand Prix – Start time, how to watch, & more

Max Verstappen has taken pole position after winning the first ever sprint qualifying race at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. Here's how and when you can watch the race.

The Red Bull driver beat F1 world title rival Lewis Hamilton in the inaugural sprint event, a 17-lap race at Silverstone, with the finishing positions setting the grid for Sunday’s British GP.

Verstappen grabbed the lead after making a better start than Hamilton and maintained the gap to keep the Mercedes driver at bay over the sprint to secure pole position for the British GP and the three world championship points.

Hamilton, who picks up two points for finishing in second place, felt there was little he could do after losing the lead at the start to Verstappen as he had to settle for the runner-up spot.

Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas opted for the bold strategy of the soft tyres in his bid to make up places but despite pressuring both Verstappen and Hamilton before dropping back to retain third place and pick up the final point.

With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth place, Sergio Perez was the biggest loser of the sprint race as he initially lost places fighting Fernando Alonso and both McLaren drivers, before spinning off and eventually retiring on the penultimate lap. The Red Bull driver will start the British GP from the pitlane after his team made changes to his car.

After a stunning start to jump up to fifth place, Alonso lost places to both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo meaning the Alpine driver will start Sunday’s race in seventh place having held off Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel late on.

George Russell has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr in the sprint race, relegating the Williams driver from ninth to 12th place on the final grid for the British GP.

Russell's demotion pushes Esteban Ocon up to ninth for Alpine, with Sainz now 10th and Gasly in 11th.

When is the F1 British Grand Prix?

Date: Sunday 18th July 2021
Start time: 3:00pm BST, 3:00pm local time

The 10th round of the 2021 F1 season, the British GP at Silverstone, gets underway at 3pm local time (3pm BST) on Sunday 18th July.

How can I watch the British GP?

In the United Kingdom, both Channel 4 and Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the British GP, with the race shown live on Channel 4 and Sky Sports F1.

Sky Sports F1 pre-race coverage will be starting at 1:30pm BST ahead of the race start at 3:00pm BST.

• Channel: Sky Sports F1
• Start time: 1:30pm BST

Channel 4 will also be showing the entire British GP weekend live, with race coverage starting at 1:30pm BST.

• Channel: Channel 4
• Start time: 1:30pm BST

Autosport will be running a live text coverage here.

When can I watch the British GP highlights?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is also broadcasting highlights of the British GP at 11:00pm BST on Sunday. The full programme will run for 65 minutes, covering the pre-race, the race highlights and the initial post-race reaction to wrap up the major talking points of the race weekend.

For the entire 2021 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race on the Saturday and Sunday of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: 11:00pm BST

Will the British GP be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations.

Coverage of the British GP will start at 3:00pm BST on the BBC Sport website, available online, as well as on the BBC Sounds app.

Weather forecast for the British GP

Current weather forecasts predict hot and sunny conditions, with a minimal chance of rain both before and during the race. The temperature is expected to be 28 degrees Celsius for the start of the race – about six degree warmer than the Austrian GP.

How many laps is the British GP?

The race is scheduled to complete 52 laps of Silverstone, covering a total race distance of 306.198km.

British GP sprint results: