British Grand Prix grid walk: Can Kimi Antonelli deny Lewis Hamilton a tenth Silverstone win?

There’s no denying that Antonelli is the story of the season so far. When Mercedes emerged as preseason favorites, no one thought he would be nearly two race wins clear of Russell a third of the way into the season. Antonelli’s brilliant sprint victory yesterday only cemented his position as this year’s star man. 

However, he only just pipped a revitalized Lewis Hamilton, who has an unbelievable record at Silverstone. People like to criticize the seven-time F1 Champion, but right now he’s bang in form, and with nine wins already at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton will absolutely be eyeing the win from third on the grid. 

Having qualified on the front row, Charles Leclerc is also well in the mix. The same can be said of Russell in P4. Antonelli seems to have him on the ropes in the Championship fight, but he’s still right there. If he can clear the Ferraris early on, Russell has every chance of fighting the youngster for a season-defining win. 

Yo-yo overtaking aside, this race has all the makings of a great watch. It seems like any one of the front four can take victory. All going smoothly, Mercedes are favorites. Let’s see if Antonelli can continue to build on his championship credentials and beat both Hamilton and Russell to a magical victory in front of their home crowd.

Lando Norris managed to grab P3 in the Sprint, but he and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri could only qualify P6 & P8 for the main event. Max Verstappen also struggled down in P7, two places behind the other Red Bull of Isack Hadjar. With all due respect, that Red Bull is an absolute mess, especially at high speed. 

They will struggle to compete at the front. Verstappen’s setup was so poor in qualifying that the Dutchman suggested it would be better to start from the pitlane than continue driving the RB22 as it is, that is if Red Bull can find setup solutions overnight.

As it stands, Mercedes will fight Ferrari, and Red Bull will take on McLaren, with Racing Bulls filling the last couple of points-paying positions. Audi are on the fringes of the points once again in P11 and P13. Alpine are P15 and P19 after Pierre Gasly was hit with a three-place penalty and Franco Colapinto spun out in Q1. 

Behind, Williams, Haas, Cadillac, and Aston Martin continue to lurk at the back of the grid; it’s not looking good for the grand prix. Expect to see them gapped quickly. It’s unlikely that they’ll become a factor in the fight for points unless there’s a safety car. 

Antonelli showed outstanding composure to hunt down and overtake Hamilton in the sprint, so take nothing away from the youngster. But it's also true that Silverstone is exposing the shortcomings of this year’s regulations. Antonelli sailed past Hamilton after the Brit had the audacity to spend battery on defending. 

And drivers will struggle even more in the grand prix at this power-intensive circuit. It’s not really Formula 1. As Jolyon Palmer said in qualifying, this sport is about “passing every driver once,” not playing leapfrog. But battery deployment is going to be critical. One false move and you’re a sitting duck for the car behind. 

This means the yo-yo overtaking seen in the sprint will likely repeat itself. It’ll be portrayed as progress too. It’s embarrassing to see drivers unable to attack at Silverstone. But this is the current state of the sport, so don’t be surprised to see a repeat performance. 

Silverstone’s partisan crowd will be desperate to see a Brit win. Hamilton has all the pedigree; he’s basically a living legend at home, at this circuit. Norris probably doesn't have the machinery to win this time out, but he's the defending champ, and he'll have a growing fanbase behind him. A good start would also bring Russell into play.

All that being said, none of these guys are on pole. Antonelli is the clear favourite. He’s shown incredible consistency, nearly setting two pole times in qualifying. It’s likely to be a one-stop race, so the Italian has every chance of winning if he can hold onto P1 at the start and manage from then onwards. Especially if a fight breaks out behind him. 

When it comes to the Championship, Russell can ill afford any more errors. He went off in Q1, only to recover to fourth place. The gap at the top is widening. Now would be the perfect time for Russell to record his first home victory. It'll be exciting to see if he (or anyone else) can stop the Antonelli hype train before it leaves the station.