The role Mercedes played in Verstappen's Silverstone pole will not go unrewarded

21:45, 05 Jul 2025
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Max Verstappen managed to clinch a shock pole position ahead of both McLarens and both Ferraris, the clear favourites to nab the first and second row for the British Grand Prix. As it turns out Verstappen got a bit of help from Mercedes in the end.
Verstappen pipped the favourites to pole. Even though the Dutchman had a more positive FP3 session, he still finished behind a McLaren and a Ferrari. So for qualifying, the expectation was that he'd qualify somewhere in the top 5. After the afternoon session, though, Verstappen had managed to shock the F1 community by taking pole from the faster McLarens and Ferraris.
However, the Dutchman, as was revealed in a Sky Sports broadcast, didn't do it al by himself. He had a little help from someone from the Silver Arrows.

The role Mercedes played in Verstappen's Silverstone pole

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As Verstappen spoke to Sky Sports, Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli entered the TV pen. Upon arrival, Verstappenwent straight to the Italian rookie and greeted him with affection, which Antonelli reciprocated.
When he got back in front of the cameras, Verstappen explained: "Kimi gave me a bit of a tow." Which, will not go unrewarded by the Dutchman: "We'll go have pasta together!", concluded the 4-time world champion.
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