Lewis Hamilton credits ‘extra hundredth’ to fans after taking Sprint Pole at British GP

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton has said he’d like to think the fans gave him the extra hundredth needed to take sprint pole position at the British Grand Prix.

Feature image credit: Ferrari Media Centre

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Hamilton will start Saturday’s sprint race from pole position, having secured the top spot on the grid by a narrow margin over his Mercedes successor, Kimi Antonelli.

The nine-time race winner at the British Grand Prix dominated his way to pole position after taking the fastest time across all thirds of the qualifying session, taking pole by 0.011 seconds over the Mercedes star.

Following his success on Friday, Hamilton said that he’d like to think the fans were the reason he took pole position for the sprint. He said:

“It’s always special coming back to this track that I love so much, and taking pole for the Sprint here is a really special feeling. Huge thanks to the team for the job they’ve done today, and to all the fans in the grandstands… your support is something else.

“Looking at the gap to Kimi (Antonelli), I’d like to think it was the fans’ energy that gave me that extra hundredth.”

Lewis Hamilton suspects ‘unprecendented’ power deployment trouble at British GP

Hamilton started the weekend strong, taking a clean sweep of fastest laps across practice and qualifying, despite concerns that the British GP could bring out the worst aspects of the current regulations.

Ahead of the British GP, the #44 Ferrari expressed his worry – and that of the drivers – that the Silverstone circuit could produce an ‘unprecedented’ weekend in power deployment, thanks to the limited areas where the drivers can harvest energy back into the power unit.

Whilst he didn’t expect to be competitive in his home race, he has praised the team, trackside and in Maranello, for their work to make the team more competitive. He said:

“We didn’t expect to be this competitive here, so a lot of credit has to go to everyone in team here and back at the factory who keep pushing and delivering improvements step by step. We’re making real progress, and that’s down to all the hard work going on behind the scenes.

“Our long-run pace looked solid too, though tomorrow will be a real challenge with how closely matched everyone is at the front.”

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Lando Norris claims damage stopped true pace at British Grand Prix sprint qualifying
• Zak Brown happy with line-up after Max Verstappen McLaren rumours
• Hamilton dominates sprint qualifying to take pole at British Grand Prix
• 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?

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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.