Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole position at Silverstone, starting on the front row alongside Charles Leclerc for the British Grand Prix tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took the second row for the Grand Prix. The rest of the field was unable to keep pace with the Mercedes and Ferraris.
Ferrari had a better pace than the field in Sprint Qualifying, taking pole position for the Sprint Race. However, Kimi Antonelli fought him for the win in the final stages of the 17-lap race and ultimately beat the Ferrari.
Hamilton was looking to repeat the performance. As he hoped to take glory around his home circuit for the tenth time. Meanwhile, Antonelli was eager to take another step towards an extended championship lead.
Q1
Ollie Bearman was among the first drivers to leave the pit lane and begin his first push lap of the session. He had a strong middle sector, which put him in the top spot early on in the session. His time of 1:31.315s put him ahead of his teammate, Esteban Ocon.
Carlos Sainz posted a good benchmark lap of 1:33s. However, it was short-lived after being deleted for running wide in Turn 3.
Charles Leclerc was complaining about the feel of his SF-26 early in the lap, but it didn’t stop the Monegasque from crossing the line and jumping to the top spot with a 1:29.534s, just over a tenth ahead of Hamilton.
There was a brief Yellow Flag with ten minutes left in the session after George Russell ran off the track at Luffield and came to a stop against the wall.
Initially, it looked as though the Briton wouldn’t get going, but he limped back into the pits with his damaged front wing.
Mercedes was quick to get Russell’s car fixed, preparing him for runs later in the session.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli was on a flying lap, taking the third-place spot on the timing sheets. Just 0.185s from the Ferrari out front.
With five minutes left in the session, Russell was making his way back onto the track, hoping to keep himself in the running for pole as he sat 21st.
Racing Bulls looked comfortable on the circuit, as Lawson crossed the line fourth and was beaten by his younger teammate Arvid Linblad. Which pushed the kiwi to fifth.
Russell was on a push lap, and it didn’t start off in the most competitive way. He struggled in the first sector, but he managed to pull his lap together and cross the line sixth. A time that was 0.6s off his teammate.
In the closing stages of Q1, Isack Hadjar was on a stunning lap shooting to the top of the times with a 1:29.276s, a clear 0.2s ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen was closing out his final flying lap of the session but could not beat his teammate’s time. Forced to accept second.
It was clear the track was continuing to rubber in and develop as Liam Lawson took second place on new tyres, and Nico Hulkenberg followed closely in fourth.
Colapinto slid over the grass in Becketts. While he managed to get going, his final lap time was ruined. Which put him 19th.
Bortoleto was called into the pits with a brief technical issue on his Audi. Luckily for the Brazilian driver, his benchmark lap time from the opening stage put him safely through Q1 into Q2.
Lance Stroll was also out of the session. Although he complained about Pierre Gasly impeding him on the final flying lap. Stewards were investigating the issue after the session.
Eliminated in Q1: Ocon, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Stroll and Alonso.
Q2
Verstappen and Hadjar were the first drivers to take to the track in the second qualifying session. Verstappen was quick to come onto the radio complaining about the way the engine was feeling in his Red Bull machinery.
The Dutchman crossed the line in 1:29.3s, a reasonable time for Verstappen but not as good as Hadjar, who was 0.2s faster.
Both Ferraris looked to join the fray, with Leclerc putting in an impressive middle sector while Hamilton did the in the first sector.
This time, they crossed the line with Hamilton leading the duo.
It was a far better start to the session for Russell, who was on a flying lap. The Brit found the speed to split the two Ferraris in the order.
Antonelli was struggling in the early part of the session, sitting 16th after his first flying lap around the iconic track. Luckily, the Brit had plenty of time to do a second lap, still struggling but able to do a lap good enough for third.
Verstappen continued to complain on the radio. The Brit stuck behind his teammate again in the order.
Leclerc took the faster middle sector, the Ferrari drivers lighting up the track and crossing the line with the fastest time of the session by 0.2s. However, it was beaten instantaneously by Antonelli. He claimed the fastest time with a 1.333s margin.
Norris’s McLaren was struggling as the Brit narrowly avoided being knocked out of the session in ninth.
Eliminated in Q2: Bortoleto, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Sainz and Albon.
Q3
Piastri was one of the first drivers to put in a flying lap in the final qualifying session, the Australian finding some pace with a 1:29.971s. However, it was quickly beaten as the rest of the field travelled around the track and brought the times down.
Leclerc shot to the top, improving on his Q2 time, but it wasn’t enough as Hamilton found more time in his flying lap.
Mercedes had yet to cross the line in their first runs, as Antonelli was on their lap, making up time compared to the rest of the field. The Italian shot to the top of the pack as he completed his lap with a 1:28.385s.
Russell finally found comfort in his Mercedes, putting his silver arrow just 0.096s behind his 19-year-old teammate.
Notably, the times after the first Q3 runs were slower than Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint Pole time.
There was a brief interlude during the session. Allowing the drivers to change their tyres. The pack filtered back onto the track for the final shot at pole.
Antonelli complained about being the first driver out on track. The Italian was worried about the track evolution in the final two minutes.
The Italian had a perfect sector 2 and 3. He went fastest overall, putting a 0.370s gap between him and his teammate.
Meanwhile, Russell was not going any faster on his lap with two difficult sectors. However, Leclerc tried to challenge the Italian with the fastest middle sector. The Ferrari driver crossed the line taking second. He got ahead of his teammate but not fast enough for pole.
Hamilton moved into third, pushing Russell to fourth in the final moments. Hadjar was the final driver to cross the line, getting a top-five start for the Grand Prix. Behind the Red Bull driver were Norris’ McLaren, Verstappen, and Piastri. With the two Racing Bulls closing out the top 10 for the race.
READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli overthrows Lewis Hamilton to take convincing Silverstone Sprint victory
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