Kimi Antonelli, British GP 2026
© Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli delivered another statement in the 2026 Formula 1 title fight by claiming pole position for the British Grand Prix, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a closely contested qualifying session at Silverstone.
The Mercedes driver produced a superb final Q3 lap of 1m28.111s to secure his fifth grand prix pole position of the season, finishing 0.175s clear of Leclerc after both drivers found significant improvements on their final runs. Lewis Hamilton completed a strong showing for Ferrari in third, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell slipped from provisional front-row contention to fourth after failing to improve on his final attempt.
Antonelli’s pole came just hours after he converted second on the grid into victory in the sprint race, further underlining Mercedes’ impressive pace across the Silverstone weekend. Although Hamilton had taken sprint pole on Friday and Ferrari appeared capable of ending Mercedes’ unbeaten grand prix qualifying record, Antonelli responded when it mattered most.
Russell had been Antonelli’s closest challenger after the opening Q3 runs but lost time on his final lap and finished 0.370s off pole. Hamilton improved on his second attempt but gained only a tenth, leaving him 0.347s adrift of Antonelli and just behind Ferrari team-mate Leclerc.
Behind the leading four, Isack Hadjar again impressed with fifth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Max Verstappen could manage only seventh after complaining about power unit deployment issues during qualifying, while Oscar Piastri struggled to find grip throughout the session and qualified eighth.
Racing Bulls continued its outstanding weekend by locking out the fifth row, with Arvid Lindblad taking ninth ahead of Liam Lawson.
In Q2, Antonelli had already set the pace with a 1m28.493s despite running wide on his opening attempt. Leclerc finished second in that segment ahead of Hamilton and Russell, while both McLaren drivers narrowly avoided elimination after difficult opening runs.
Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on Q3 by just 0.032s and will start 11th for Audi after recovering from an early gearbox concern that briefly threatened his qualifying session. Pierre Gasly qualified 12th for Alpine ahead of Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Haas driver Oliver Bearman in 14th, while Carlos Sainz completed the top 15.
Williams endured another disappointing afternoon as Carlos Sainz was 15th, and Alex Albon 16th at the back of the pack in Q2.
The gusty conditions caught out several drivers in Q1, Esteban Ocon was 17th for Haas, Valtteri Bottas qualified 18th for Cadillac, Franco Colapinto suffered a dramatic spin through the high-speed Maggotts-Becketts section on his final lap and could only qualify 19th, and the second Cadillac of Sergio Perez was 20tth.
Aston Martin endured a miserable afternoon, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso occupying the final row after failing to challenge throughout qualifying.
