Hamilton dominates sprint qualifying to take pole at British Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton has dominated sprint qualifying to take pole position for the British Grand Prix sprint race, ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

Nine-time race winner at the British GP, Hamilton, has claimed his second career sprint pole position at the British Grand Prix and his second-ever with Ferrari after the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.

No one could seem to touch Hamilton as the seven-time world champion topped every third of the sprint qualifying around the Silverstone circuit, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli being his closest challenger in both SQ2 and SQ3.

By the chequered flag of qualifying, the #44 Ferrari topped the timing boards with a lap of 1m 28.376s, pipping Antonelli to the top spot of the sprint grid by 0.011s. Red Bull Racing’s four-time world champion and sprint pole record-holder, Max Verstappen, rounded out the top three, 0.321s off Hamilton’s pace.

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Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell, couldn’t get close to the benchmark, qualifying 0.357 seconds adrift of Hamilton’s best time and three-tenths off the back of Antonelli.

McLaren, on the other hand, endured a somewhat successful qualifying session as Lando Norris carried damage through qualifying to his car, having damaged his car on the kerbs around the circuit. The defending world champion was close to making an early exit in SQ2 as Norris secured a top 10 place by going 0.081 seconds faster than Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who qualified 11th.

By the end of the session, McLaren will occupy the third and fourth rows of the grid, with Norris joining Russell on the third line, finishing sixth, as Piastri could only best seventh, joining Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar on the fourth row.

So, who qualified where for the upcoming sprint race around Silverstone?

Hamilton tops sole practice at British Grand Prix

The provisional grid for the British Sprint Race

1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari 
2. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Lando Norris, McLaren
7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
8. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
9. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
10. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
11. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
12. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi 
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi
14. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
15. Carlos Sainz, Williams
16. Alexander Albon, Williams
17. Oliver Bearman, Haas
18. Esteban Ocon, Haas
19. Sergio Perez, Cadillac
20. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
21. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Hamilton tops sole practice at British Grand Prix
• Mercedes can’t assume their recent performance will continue at British Grand Prix
• Ferrari identified improvements ahead of British Grand Prix
• The Rise Of Racing Bulls: Can They Keep The Double-Points Streak Going At Silverstone?
• Formula 1 brings back LEGO cars for British Grand Prix
• Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm set to feed Alpine at British Grand Prix
• McLaren to run striking one-off livery at British Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.