Lewis Hamilton has made a storming start to the British Grand Prix weekend by claiming pole position for Saturday’s sprint at Silverstone.
On a weekend he will be chasing a landmark 10th win at his home race in Sunday’s main grand prix, Hamilton made the perfect start on Friday by topping practice and then all three segments of Sprint qualifying to pip Mercedes title leader Kimi Antonelli to pole by 0.011s.
It marks the seven-time world champion’s first pole position in one of Formula One’s qualifying formats since last season’s China sprint, which he won, and maintains the 41-year-old’s growing momentum in his second year at Ferrari three weeks after winning the race in Barcelona.
Hamilton had heavily played down Ferrari’s prospects at Silverstone in interviews on Thursday due to Ferrari’s perceived equal speed deficit to championship leaders Mercedes.
But on a high-speed circuit where power is king, the Ferrari SF-26 looked competitive from the start, with Hamilton producing another masterclass around Silverstone to once again lead the resurgent Scuderia’s charge.
A jubilant Hamilton, whose pole was cheered by the large Friday crowd at a sun-drenched circuit, said afterwards that Ferrari’s form against Mercedes so far had come as an “incredible surprise”.
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle said: “Lewis made the difference. It was a classic Lewis Hamilton Silverstone lap.”
With Antonelli just below Hamilton in second, Max Verstappen took third in the improved Red Bull to complete an eye-catching one-two-three on the grid for Saturday’s 17 sprint.
But Charles Leclerc was once again no match for Hamilton in the sister Ferrari, running three-tenths slower than his team-mate to take fourth. But Leclerc was still ahead of Austrian winner George Russell, who battled Antonelli throughout the session and could only manage fifth in an early battle against his own home race weekend.
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Lewis Hamilton wins Sprint Pole at the British Grand Prix!
The world champions McLaren were never a factor in the pole fight.
Lando Norris, who had car damage through the first two segments before repairs ahead of SQ3, eventually pipped team-mate Oscar Piastri to sixth, but the McLaren duo, whose cars are running in white and green this weekend, finished four tenths off the pace in third.
Isack Hadjar had been running ahead of Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in SQ1 but eventually slipped to eighth on the soft tyres, although he was still just a tenth behind the third-placed Dutchman. Hadjar stayed ahead of Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who continued their consistent top-10 form.
More to follow…
Sky Sports F1’s British GP programme
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments over the years at the British Grand Prix
Saturday 4 July
9.30: F3 Sprint*
11:00: British GP Sprint Build-up*
12:00: BRITISH GP SPRINT*
1.40pm: F2 Sprint*
14.50: British GP qualifying build-up*
16:00: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*
18.00: F1 Academy Race 1
18.45: Ted’s qualifying notebook
Sunday, July 5
8.20: F3 Feature Race*
9.55: F1 Academy Race 2*
11.10: F2 Feature Race*
12.55: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
15:00: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Checkered flag: British GP reaction
18.00: Ted’s notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is at Silverstone for a Sprint weekend at the British Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One – with Sunday’s race at 3 p.m. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime