Kimi Antonelli translated his Sprint pace into pole position for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and the other Mercedes of George Russell forming an all-British second row for the 52-lap race.
Q1
The Ferraris set the early qualifying pace but this time it was Charles Leclerc that led Hamilton, despite the Monegasque driver complaining of brake vibrations. The Mercedes of Sprint winner Antonelli was close behind in third, however his team-mate Russell locked a wheel into Luffield and understeered into the gravel – and his front wing just touched the barrier. Although he was able to rescue the car, a trip to the pits was necessitated, slowing his momentum.
Then, as the session drew to a close, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar posted the quickest time, closely by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. At the other end, the Haas of Esteban Ocon, the Cadillacs of Vatteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto – aided by a high-speed spin – and the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were eliminated.
Q2
The Prancing Horses were galloping once again in the second session, with Hamilton and Leclerc trading fastest times, however Antonelli posted a late lap to best both of them, with Russell fourth ahead of the Red Bulls – Hadjar ahead of an unhappy Verstappen – McLarens and Racing Bulls. This left Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman and the two Williams cars of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to sit out the final session.
Q3
Hamilton posted an early fast lap to lead the order but was soon usurped by the Mercedes cars, with Antonelli heading Russell, the latter just under a tenth behind, with Leclerc, the Red Bulls and McLarens behind – with Racing Bulls electing to set just one lap.
On the second runs, Antonelli bested his time by a quarter of a second and Leclerc challenged, falling short by less than two tenths. With only Norris able to improve, splitting the Red Bulls, the grid was set.
An ecstatic Antonelli said “ I asked why were we going out first but it didn’t matter. It was a bit stressed because I never really liked going first for the last run, but it was very tidy. It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty, unpredictable but we built our way through qualifying and to bring the pole home is very satisfying. We didn’t change the car at all.”
Hamilton remained happy, despite losing a place on the front row. “I’m happy to be up here, these guys did a great job today. We just didn’t have the pace unfortunately of the Mercedes for a while, but we’re slowly closing the gap and to have both of us up here is great for the team. Because that means, hopefully we can fully keep up with Kimi. We’ll see tomorrow, but hopefully we can maybe play with a strategy and work as a team to try to topple them. We’ll do our best, for sure.”
With a battle at the front between Mercedes and Ferrari, with Red Bull and McLaren close behind and British drivers in third, fourth, sixth, ninth and 14th places, the scene is set for an enthralling British Grand Prix.
Formula 1 British Grand Prix Qualifying
1, Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:28.111s
2, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +0.175s
3, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, +0.347s
4, George Russell, Mercedes, +0.370s
5, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, +0.635s
6, Lando Norris, McLaren, +0.766s
7, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, +0.782s
8, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, +0.921s
9, Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, +1.194s
10, Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, +1.605s|
11, Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi, Q2
12, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Q2
13, Nico Hulkenberg, Audi, Q2
14, Oliver Bearman, Haas, Q2
15, Carlos Sainz, Williams, Q2
16, Alex Albon, Williams, Q2
17, Esteban Ocon, Haas, Q1
18, Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, Q1
19, Franco Colapinto, Alpine, Q1
20, Sergio Pérez, Cadillac, Q1
21, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, Q1
22, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Q1