Hamilton pips Antonelli to pole for British GP Sprint

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position in Sprint Qualifying ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver snatching top spot on home soil by just 0.011s from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton had set the pace in Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone throughout Friday afternoon, having gone fastest in Free Practice before leading the way in both earlier segments prior to a one-lap shootout in SQ3.

The seven-time World Champion posted a 1:28.376s lap, leaving him just fractionally quicker than Antonelli, as the pair headed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

George Russell was P5 and only just ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Mercedes driver having struggled throughout Sprint Qualifying for pace.

The top-10 ahead of Saturday’s Sprint was completed by Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly missed out on advancing to the final stage of Sprint Qualifying by less than one-tenth, as he headed the Audi pair of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg.

The second Alpine of Franco Colapinto was P14, ahead of the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, the latter 1.9s slower than Hamilton’s best in SQ2.

In the opening 12-minute segment, Haas driver Ollie Bearman failed to advance by just 0.010s against Albon, with team mate Esteban Ocon a further six tenths behind in P18.

The order was completed by the two Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, and the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, the latter pair more than 3.6 seconds off the pace.

SQ1

With just a single, one-hour practice session under their belts, drivers and teams headed out into the relative unknown for the opening 12-minute segment of SQ1, with all 22 drivers required to use a set of medium Pirelli tyres.

The circuit length – standing at 3.661 miles – and short session duration meant drivers were effectively limited to two hot laps, with Hadjar the quickest after the opening salvos, the Frenchman’s 1:29.470s leaving him clear of Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc, Antonelli and Verstappen.

Russell was left only P9 while, in the drop zone, the Haas and Cadillac drivers occupied the lower placings, as did the Aston Martin duo who had yet to set a time approaching the final few minutes.

Hamilton moved back to the top with a 1:29.273s, leaving him one-tenth clear of Leclerc as the majority of Ferrari’s rivals decided against going for a second flying effort.

A scrappy lap moved Russell only as high as P5 behind Hamilton, Leclerc, Hadjar and Piastri, with Verstappen completing the top six having also decided on a second attempt.

Antonelli, Lawson, Hulkenberg and Norris completed the top 10, while Bortoleto, Gasly, Lindblad, Albon, Colapinto and Sainz progressed to SQ2.

The Williams duo had briefly fallen into the drop zone after an improvement by Bearman, but the Haas driver was the first man to be eliminated along with Ocon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll, who was 3.7s off the pace of Hamilton.

Knocked out: Bearman, Ocon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll

SQ2

Hamilton continued his strong performance in the 10-minute SQ2 segment, the Briton’s 1:28.747s quickest after the first runs from Antonelli and Leclerc, with the top three order remaining unchanged at the chequered flag.

Piastri headed Verstappen and Hadjar, with Team Principal Zak Brown confirming Norris was carrying minor damage from SQ1, which left the reigning World Champion in P7 but still ahead of Russell, the Mercedes driver struggling for performance.

The top 10 was completed initially by the two Audi drivers, although both Racing Bulls and Alpine drivers opted to only do one run with the Pirelli medium tyre in the closing minutes.

Lawson jumped to P4 and team mate Lindblad P8, pushing Russell onto the cusp of elimination with less than 90 seconds remaining. Russell improved with his second run, climbing up to P7, but still half a second behind Hamilton.

The Mercedes driver slotted between both Red Bulls, as the top 10 was completed by Lindblad and Norris.

Gasly missed out by less than one-tenth, followed by Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Colapinto and the Williams pair of Sainz and Albon.

Knocked out: Gasly, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Sainz and Albon

SQ3

With drivers moving onto the soft Pirelli tyre, the final 10-minute SQ3 segment effectively became a one-lap shootout, with Piastri and then Norris the first to set leading runs as the clock reached zero.

They were both quickly beaten by Antonelli’s 1:28.387s, before Hamilton delighted the home fans by going 0.011s quicker to take top spot for Saturday’s 17-lap Sprint.

They were followed by Verstappen and Leclerc, with Russell managing to move his way up to P5 but more than three tenths in arrears.

Norris headed Piastri as the McLaren pair found themselves in P6 and P7, while the top-10 was completed by Hadjar, Lawson and Lindblad.

With the grid decided, the drivers will line up for the Sprint at 12:00 local time on Saturday. Can Hamilton convert pole into a victory in front of his home fans.