On the wet track of the legendary Silverstone layout, while rain dominated much of qualifying, the second row went to Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), third, and Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull).
"It was a good lap, but I had a lot of trouble with the stagnant water," commented the poleman, currently fifth in the provisional world championship standings.
In front of spectators won over to their cause, British Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished 5th and 8th respectively.
Mercedes, like Alpine and Williams, arrived at Silverstone with a series of modifications to their single-seaters.
For the Silver Arrows, it's about getting back on track after a difficult start to the season due to new regulations.
The last Briton on the grid, Lando Norris (McLaren), snatches 6th place, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso is 7th at the wheel of his Alpine, while the Chinese Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) takes 9th place, his best performance in qualifying since joining F1 this season.
Carlos Sainz during qualifying for the British GP on July 2, 2022 at Silverstone JUSTIN TALLIS AFP
Note also the fine performance of Canadian Nicholas Latifi who, driving his Williams, managed to snatch his ticket for the last part of qualifying.
He will start from 10th place on Sunday.
As for the weather conditions, the day of Sunday promises to be more lenient, according to the forecasts of Météo France for the International Automobile Federation.
© 2022 AFP