Sprint pole at Silverstone an ‘amazing surprise’ for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says being fastest in qualifying for the Sprint at the British Grand Prix was “an amazing surprise” after he beat Kimi Antonelli on Friday afternoon.

Ferrari’s straight-line deficit in Austria had led to concerns it would struggle to compete with Mercedes at the high-speed Silverstone circuit, but Hamilton topped FP1 and then duly remained unbeaten throughout all three sections of Sprint qualifying. After pipping Antonelli by just 0.011s with his final lap, Hamilton said it was an unexpected result that was particularly special in front of his home support.

“I love this place, I love this crowd,” Hamilton said. “I can't really express to you how big a dream it is – still to this day, when you're building up to this race, and when you think about every corner, and kind of the flow that you can get into at the track if you've got the setup right, and if you've got the right team behind you.

“The car’s felt really great today. Thanks to everyone back at the factory for just continuing to push. We've got tiny little bits here. Every single weekend, we're showing up with something; just everyone's pushed to the max. And so really grateful to get that pole.

“I was quick through all the session but still, it was only ten milliseconds or something like that. So, very close to these guys, and the team really deserves it. So, a big thank you to everyone here.

“We're ahead of Mercedes. These guys and Red Bull, they have so much power. They've been doing amazing all year – the boys in blue this weekend, these champs – but my team just won't let up. They keep pushing, and that's what I'm so proud of.

“It won't always be like this, but we didn't expect, coming to Silverstone, that we would be competing for the front row. We really, really didn't. So, this is an amazing surprise. I’m ecstatic.”

The one-lap pace might have been unexpected, but Hamilton says he was encouraged by his higher-fuel running on Friday and is hopeful he can fight for victory in the Sprint race.

“I think our pace was good. We did a short, sort of long-ish run, in FP1 – it was not a lot of time – but the car felt good there," he said. "So, I think we should have a good race tomorrow.

“Starting from the front row, I don't remember the last time I started from the front row here! So, it's not so easy when you've got these guys [Antonelli and Max Verstappen] that can follow you and be close with the extra power, potentially. But I'll do my best to keep them behind.”