Sir Lewis Hamilton thrilled the home crowd at Silverstone by taking Sprint pole for Ferrari after topping every session on Friday. The seven-time world champion backed up his fastest time in Free Practice by going quickest in every stage of Sprint Qualifying, ultimately setting a 1:28.376 to edge championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes by just 0.011 seconds. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the top three.
Speaking after the session, Hamilton said: “Wow! It feels ok. I like it!
“I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can’t express to you how big a dream it is, and still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you.
“And the car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max.
“I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the sessions but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here.”
Hamilton’s pace was evident from the moment the cars hit the track, with Ferrari appearing comfortable around the high-speed Silverstone layout. The Briton looked in control through SQ1 and SQ2 before delivering when it mattered most in SQ3.
Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc will line up fourth, just ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in fifth. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could only manage sixth and seventh, while Red Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took eighth. Liam Lawson delivered a strong showing for Racing Bulls to claim ninth, with rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad completing the top ten in tenth.
There were several notable early exits. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was knocked out in SQ2 in 11th, along with Audi pair Gabriel Bortoleto in 12th and Nico Hulkenberg in 13th. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto followed in 14th, while Williams endured a disappointing session with Carlos Sainz in 15th and Alex Albon in 16th.
SQ1 saw both Haas drivers eliminated, with Oliver Bearman 17th and Esteban Ocon 18th. Cadillac struggled as Sergio Perez finished 19th and Valtteri Bottas 20th, while Aston Martin suffered a difficult session with Fernando Alonso 21st and Lance Stroll last in 22nd.
Hamilton will now look to turn Sprint pole into Sprint victory on Saturday as he aims to continue Ferrari’s momentum in front of a packed home crowd at Silverstone.
