British Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton, master of Silverstone!
F1 NewsFriday, 03 July 2026 at 18:15
Lewis Hamilton delivered a surprise Sprint Pole position for Ferrari at the 2026 British Grand Prix proving the pace he showed in practice was no fluke.
The seven-time Formula 1 Champion defied all the odds that favored Mercedes for a top result in Silverstone and started his bid for a tenth win at home perfectly with Sprint Pole.
Ferrari were expected to struggle with their weak power unit but managed to capitalize on their nimble SF-26 chassis with Hamilton delivering when it mattered.
However, it was close as Kimi Antonelli launched an attack on the Ferrari man but fell short by 0.011s and was second fastest.
Max Verstappen struggled throughout practice and Sprint Qualifying and at some point, it seemed teammate Isack Hadjar would outqualify him.
But the Dutchman delivered his best lap in the end, taking the third spot on the starting grid of Saturday's Sprint Race, 0.321s off the pace.
Charles Leclerc was once again humbled by his teammate and was 0.327s off the pace in fourth ahead of George Russell who also couldn't find the pace he needed to go beyond fifth.
McLaren had a tough session as Lando Norris damaged his kerb going hard on the kerbs in SQ1 but managed to make SQ3 as his mechanics managed to patch up his car.
However, the reigning F1 Champion was only sixth fastest with Oscar Piastri in seventh with 0.032s separating the McLaren.
Hadjar was eighth fastest in the other Red Bull Racing car as an on form Liam Lawson was ninth for Racing Bulls with Arvid Lindblad in tenth.
SQ1: Both Williams in, both Haas out!
The session started in clear conditions with the English summer not messing around with Sprint Qualifying as track temperatures hit 44 degrees Celsius with air temperature at 26 degrees.
Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez made their way out on track first as both Haas cars also followed with the top teams not waiting long before unleashing their drivers out on track.
Alpine followed with eight minutes remaining while both Aston Martins remained in their respective garages.
All cars were on the Medium tyres as Sprint Qualifying rules mandate.
🟢 SQ1 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
Away. We. Go!! #F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/oLvEkmSTQq
Both Cadillacs posted lap times but then Bearman went to the top only for Antonelli to go faster with Ocon in third.
Then Russell came through, second fastest as Leclerc stuck at the top with Hamilton chasing and going even faster.
Verstappen came through after that in fourth with Hadjar going fastest of all as Piastri went third and Norris only eighth.
FIVE MINUTES TO GO IN SQ1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
TOP 6 ⬆️
Hadjar
Hamilton
Piastri
Leclerc
Antonelli
Verstappen 📸
BOTTOM 6 ⬇️
Perez
Bottas
Sainz
Albon
Alonso
Stroll#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/urkYi36bdm
The times went on tumbling with every lap driven which meant drivers needed to go again and in the end, Hamilton led the way with a 1:29.273, 0.107s clear of Leclerc in second with Hadjar third fastest.
The rest of the top 16: Piastri - Russell - Verstappen - Antonelli - Lawson - Nico Hulkenberg - Norris - Gabriel Bortoleto - Pierre Gasly - Lindblad - Alex Albon - Franco Colapinto - Carlos Sainz.
Missing out on SQ2 were Oliver Bearman who was dropped by Sainz by just 0.010s as Esteban Ocon was 18th.
Perez was 19th with Bottas in 20th as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were 21st and 22nd respectively.
SQ2: Norris sneaks into the top ten despite car damage!
With a little over two minutes gone from SQ2, all cars were out on track with both Racing Bulls and Alpines staying behind.
Verstappen started first with Hadjar following and then Norris started his lap, the Briton suffering from damage to a brake duct which fell off in SQ1 and having to drive with less downforce. That was according to McLaren CEO Zak Brown who offered that information over the live feed.
Hamilton starts SQ2 where he left off SQ1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
P1 ☝️#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/4d2ciSUPIF
Verstappen went fastest with Hadjar second then Norris went third with Piastri going to the top only for Hamilton to top the timing screens with Leclerc behind him only for Antonelli to split the Ferraris in second.
Russell was eighth with Bortoleto and Hulkenberg ninth and tenth respectively as the Racing Bulls and Alpines decided to join the action after the first runs were done.
Lawson goes P4 with just over a minute to go! 💪#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/tG4kK08aDR
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
Then came the second runs came and in the end, Hamilton remained on top with a 1:28.747, 0.099s ahead of Antonelli in second as Leclerc was third, 0.175s behind his teammate.
The rest of the top ten were: Lawson - Piastri - Verstappen - Russell - Hadjar - Lindblad - Norris.
Gasly missed out by 0.081s and was 11th fastest ahead of Bortoleto who was 12th with Hulkenberg following in 13th.
Colapinto was 14th in the other Alpine and Sainz and Albon were 15th and 16th respectively.
SQ3: Antonelli tried his best but wasn't enough
McLaren mechanics rushed to try and repair Norris' car ahead of SQ3 as the countdown from eight minutes started with drivers taking their time before driving their cars out on track for the final time on Friday with Soft tyres, as per the rules.
With less than four minutes remaining on the clock, the cars starting emerging from the pits with the plan to go for only one timed lap.
Here we go...
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2026
One lap to decide who takes Sprint pole #F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/RnoIS3n4yi
Piastri started his lap first with Lindblad and Norris behind him. Piastri went fastest with Lindblad going second as Norris went to the top.
Then Lawson went third as Antonelli went to the top with Leclerc chasing and going second place but Hamilton was coming behind and duly went to the top.
Hadjar went seventh as Russell was fifth with Verstappen in third.
The final order: Hamilton - Antonelli - Verstappen - Leclerc - Russell - Norris - Piastri - Hadjar - Lawson - Lindblad
British Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Provisional Classification
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