The first ever edition of the Formula 1 (F1) Sprint took place at the British Grand Prix 2021. The 20 drivers began the unique race positioned according to how they had qualified on Friday evening. Red Bull's Max Verstappen toped the new trial Sprint race and will now begin the British Grand Prix from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton having finished in second place, had a bad start allowing Verstappen to easily cruise past him before the opening 'Abbey' bend. Verstappen then kept his cool to keep Hamilton at arm's length for the remainder of the 17-lap dash to the flag to take pole for Sunday's race.The win also earned the 23 year old Dutchman three championship points, increasing his series lead over Hamilton from 32 to 33.
The race itself marked the first time the trial qualifying format had been used in F1 with the Sprint race setting up the grand prix starting grid and awarding points to the first three drivers. Valtteri Bottas finished third in the other Mercedes ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and British driver Lando Norris in his McLaren both who took 4th and 5th positions respectively.
The 100km Sprint race featured 17 laps where by only the top three got a chance to earn points. Verstappen was awarded 3 points, Hamilton got 2 points while Bottas secured a single point.