Hamilton Edges Antonelli by 0.011 Seconds for Silverstone Sprint Pole as Mercedes Leads Championship

Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari took pole position for the sprint race at the 2026 British Grand Prix with a lap of 1:28.376 at Silverstone. BBC News reported that Hamilton beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes by 0.011 seconds. Max Verstappen of Red Bull placed third, 0.321 seconds behind.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari qualified fourth, 0.327 seconds off the pace. George Russell of Mercedes took fifth, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris in sixth and Oscar Piastri in seventh. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10.

Hamilton said after the session: "Wow. OK. I like it. I love this place. I love this crowd. " He added that the result came as a surprise given expectations against Mercedes. Antonelli stated the margin was tight and noted a small amount of time left on the table.

Verstappen said the session was close and that Red Bull still had work to do to reach its targets. Leclerc observed that Hamilton extracts more from the car on a consistent basis. Norris said a broken brake duct affected his earlier runs but was repaired before his final attempt.

The sprint race is scheduled for 12:00 BST on Saturday 4 July 2026. BBC News reported that teams can adjust car settings after the sprint ahead of grand prix qualifying later that day.