Silverstone, 9 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull beat Lando Norris of McLaren in his final flying lap on Saturday to take pole position for the Formula One British Grand Prix.

The championship leader had already set the pace in the final part of qualifying with his first flying lap, but that time was beaten by Britain's Norris.

The home crowd delight, however, was short-lived, as Verstappen was back at the top after clocking 1 minute 26.720 second in his final effort.

"It’s always Max. He always ruins everything for everyone," Norris joked during his post-qualifying interview.

Norris was 0.241 second behind the Dutchman and was followed by team-mate Oscar Piastri as McLaren, who brought an extensive upgrade package to Silverstone, claimed their best qualifying result so far this season.

"Pretty insane. My last lap was a good lap. I could hear Zak (Brown, McLaren CEO) on the radio on the in lap, which is the best thing ever," Norris said. This his first front row start since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, when he was on pole.

Rookie driver Piastri celebrated the best qualifying result of his debut season: "We were almost out in Q1 and Q2 but the car was like a rocket ship in Q3."

Verstappen meanwhile, took a fifth consecutive pole position and seventh overall this year.

"It’s been quite a crazy qualifying. It’s been quite hectic and quite slippery in places but we did our laps. In Q3 I was surprised to see those two there but great for McLaren," the Dutchman said.

Verstappen tops the drivers' championships with 229 points, 81 more than team-mate Sergio Perez.

If everything goes his way in Sunday's race, he's set to take a big advantage in the fight for a third consecutive title as Perez had yet another disappointing qualifying result.

The Mexican driver didn't make it out of Q1 and was out of the top 10 for the fifth consecutive time. He will start the race in 16th.

For Ferrari it was fourth and fifth, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively, while Mercedes lined up with home drivers George Russell in sixth and Lewis Hamilton in seventh.

Alex Albon of Williams, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

After environmental activists last year walked onto the track during the opening lap, organizers have worked alongside the police to increase security ahead of this weekend's event as they prepare for potential new protests.

International sports events have been regularly targeted by protesters, with Just Stop Oil activists interrupting play at Wimbledon this week.

Security measures include the use of live facial recognition, the Northants Police said on Saturday, but "is not a condition of entry and will be clearly marked with signage."

During the weekend, Silverstone will also be hosting the filming for a Formula 1-inspired movie, which Hamilton is helping to produce and with Hollywood star Brad Pitt playing the role of a F1 driver.

As part of the filming, the fictional Apex GP team, for whom Pitt will drive in the movie, have been given a garage in the pit lane between the garages belonging to Ferrari and Mercedes.

Photo: EPA