Sainz on pole, Mercedes on full attack: 4 key talking points after British GP qualifying

Rain and poor track conditions reigned supreme around the Silverstone track in Great Britain, but it provided plenty of action during qualifying.

Here are our top talking points after the session.

QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION ??Sainz reigns in the rain ??#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/4DODPKeOXf

Sainz finally takes maiden pole

Carlos Sainz had it all to play for around Silverstone. The conditions were such that anyone could take advantage of the trying track and weather conditions, and not let the predictable outcome take centre stage. And it was exactly what happened when Sainz put his Ferrari on pole - his first in 150 F1 race starts.

The 2022 British GP will be the Spaniard's 150th race in motorsport's pinnacle series, and he is starting it in the best possible position: the front. He bested Max Verstappen to the position by a mere 0.072 seconds, with teammate Charles Leclerc 0.315sec behind. Both Verstappen and Leclerc made mistakes on their final runs, but Sainz kept his deciding run clean.

"It was a good lap," Sainz said after the session. "I was struggling a lot with the standing water. Pole came as a bit of a surprise. The pace has been there all weekend. I'm sure Max and Charles will put a lot of pressure, but I will try my best, of course."

Sainz has been knocking on the door of both his first pole and first win, but the opportunity has always come begging. Maybe he'll turn his fortunes around in the race and write his next to F1's winners' list.

A day @Carlossainz55 will never forget! ??#BritishGP @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/bhq8rIedrE

Red Bull is strong. Everywhere

Although Sainz will start from the front, Verstappen will line up alongside him in the Red Bull. The defending champion has had a challenging start to the