British Grand Prix | Carlos Sainz gets his first pole position, Nicholas Latifi 10th

(Silverstone) One hundred and fifty races later, Carlos Sainz Jr. finally made it.

The Ferrari driver clinched the first pole position of his career at the end of qualifying for the British Formula 1 Grand Prix on Saturday, while a Canadian driver signaled a little further behind.

Sainz Jr. clocked one minute and 40.983 seconds in difficult track conditions — the rain was intermittent and the thermometer read just 14 degrees Celsius — at the Silverstone circuit, cutting 72 thousandths of a second off the current leader’s time in the championship, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

“It was a good lap, but I had trouble with the puddles that had formed on the track. It was very easy to skid and lose temperature with the intermediate tyres,” Sainz Jr. said after the session.

Verstappen had some serious scares in the rain during the final stretch of qualifying, including being the victim of an inconsequential spin and a brief off-track visit. Which deprived him of great opportunities to take the lead from the Spaniard.

“It was a very difficult qualifying session in the rain; you had to be on the track at the right time. It’s still a great result because I’m on the front row of the grid and we have a good car in dry and wet conditions,” explained Verstappen, to boos from the British crowd.

For his part, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc followed in third place, 0.315 seconds behind his team-mate, while Red Bull driver Sergio Perez took fourth fastest time.

“I’m very happy for Carlos, he did a good job today. I skidded on my last flying lap and I knew it was my last chance [de battre Sainz fils], but I didn’t deserve it today. The pace is there, and if we have a good car [demain] then everything should go well, ”said the Monegasque.

His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, seven-time F1 world champion, completed the top 5.

Lando Norris (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), George Russell (Mercedes), Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) followed, in order.

However, it was Torontonian Nicholas Latifi who achieved the feat of the day.

The Williams driver won the 10^e place on the starting grid, despite not having the same upgrades that were made to team-mate Alexander Albon’s car this weekend. Thus, for the first time this season, Latifi reached Q2 and Q3 – while Albon qualified 16^e.

For his part, the Quebecer Lance Stroll had another miserable qualifying session at Aston Martin and will have to start from the 20^e and last row on the grid, Sunday.

Verstappen, the reigning world champion, had dominated the third free practice session earlier on Saturday.

The Dutchman is looking for a seventh victory in 10 races so far this season, and a sixth in the last seven events. He leads the Drivers’ Championship with 175 points, 46 more than his closest pursuer, Perez. Leclerc is third at 126.

Hamilton, 37, is the reigning British Grand Prix champion.