Motorsport TechnologyLewis Hamilton started his British Grand Prix weekend in the best possible manner by securing a dominant pole position for Saturday’s Sprint Race.
Prior to the race weekend, Ferrari had played down their chances on the high-speed Silverstone circuit.
But whether driver skill or bluff from Ferrari, the seven-time world champion delighted the home crowd to begin the weekend in fine style.
Lewis shines at Silverstone… again! #F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/XszNtvi8e6
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
“I love this place, I love this crowd,” said Hamilton on the official F1 website.
“I can’t express to you how big a dream it is, still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and kind of the flow that you can get into at this track if you get the set-up right, and if you’ve got the right team behind you.”
A quickest time of 1m28.376s meant that Hamilton pipped championship leader Kimi Antonelli by a miniscule 0.011s, Max Verstappen third fastest and 0.321s adrift.
The second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc will line up fourth for the Sprint ahead of Austrian GP winner George Russell and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad round out the top ten.
“The car’s felt really great today, thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push,” added Hamilton, who has won his home grand prix a record nine times.
“We brought tiny little bits here – every single weekend we’re showing up with something, and everyone’s pushed to the max, so I’m really grateful to get that pole.
Another golden day at Silverstone for Lewis 🤩#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/uDKwohcRVp
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
“I was quick through all the session, but still it was only 10 milliseconds or something like that, so it’s very close to these guys and the team really deserves it.
“A big, big thank you to everyone here.”
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