Lewis Hamilton has taken sprint pole at the circuit he knows best. After topping the timesheets in FP1, Hamilton was consistently quick throughout sprint qualifying and pipped Kimi Antonelli to pole by just eleven thousandths of a second. After doubting his prospects on Thursday, Hamilton was surprised at his own pace in sprint qualifying and stated that his package felt “awesome”. Having won the British Grand Prix on nine previous occasions and finished on the podium in 15 of the 19 races he’s done here thus far, few would dismiss the claim that Hamilton is the favourite this weekend.
Antonelli will line up second and, having narrowly missed out on pole, is perfectly placed to attack Hamilton in the sprint. Max Verstappen had a largely anonymous run in free practice and was visibly content with third. The four-time world champion later said that he was on “the good side” of SQ3 but stated that Red Bull has work to do in the corners and expects his main battle to be with those behind him.
Charles Leclerc was once again unable to contend with his teammate and will line up fourth ahead of George Russell. Not the result the most recent race winner would have wanted, given the 40-point gap separating him from his teammate. After struggling with handling issues throughout, the two McLarens will line up sixth and seventh. Lando Norris outpaced his teammate but described his pace as “unfortunate”. Oscar Piastri will line up seventh, just 0.032s. behind Norris.
Isack Hadjar qualified eighth and looks set to continue his point-scoring streak. After being impeded by Nico Hulkenberg in free practice, Liam Lawson recovered well to secure ninth, ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad who will be contesting his first home grand prix.
Pierre Gasly qualified 11th ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Having displayed strong pace in free practice, Audi will be hoping to capitalise in the race. Franco Colapinto qualified 14th ahead of Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez reported strong gusts of wind (a regular hazard at Silverstone) in SQ1 and qualified 19th ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas and the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
With Antonelli in close attendance and Verstappen hungry in third, we could be in for a three-way fight for the remainder of the weekend. However, if Hamilton’s current pace and frankly ominous track record at Silverstone are anything to go by, the seven-time world champion will be the benchmark going forward.
