Lewis Hamilton says we're ahead of a Mercedes & Red Bull, they have so much power!

Hamilton topped FP1, which many believed to be showboating with Mercedes sandbagging, but as it turned out, Ferrari's pace was genuine.

Elated with his result, Hamilton said after Sprint Qualifying: “I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can’t express to you how big a dream it is.

"Still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you.

“And the car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max.

“I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the session, but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here," he added.

Hamilton then took a dig at Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, with both teams having power units superior to that of Ferrari; he said: "We're ahead of a Mercedes and the Red Bull, they have so much power, these guys.

"They've been doing amazing all year, the boys in blue [Mercedes] this weekend, these champs.

"But my team won't let up; they'll 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'd be competing for the front row; we really, really didn't.

"So, this is an amazing surprise. I'm ecstatic," the 41-year-old maintained.

And while he will start the Sprint Race from pole, Hamilton will have to work hard to keep Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen behind as they start second and third, respectively.

But he seemed confident with Ferrari's long run pace; he said: "I think our pace was good. We did a short, sort of longish run in practice; there wasn't a lot of time.

"But the car felt good there, so I think we should have a good race tomorrow. I mean, starting from the front row, I don't remember the last time I started from the front row here.

"Not so easy when you've got these guys that can follow you and be close with the extra power potentially, but I'll do my best to keep them behind," Hamilton concluded. (Source: Sky Sports F1)