SILVERSTONE, England — Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli had a day to remember at a blustery Silverstone circuit, first taking victory in the sprint race and then claiming pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Italian set a best lap time of one minute 28.111 seconds on his opening run in the final qualifying segment, proving too quick for the rest of the field. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slotted into second on the grid, 0.175 seconds back, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton secured third.
Antonelli’s closest rival in the title race, Mercedes teammate George Russell, could only manage fourth place — a significant blow at his home circuit. The pole was Antonelli’s fifth of the season and continued Mercedes’ remarkable run of starting from the top spot at all nine grands prix held so far this year.
“It was a very tidy lap, a lap where I put everything together,” Antonelli said. “It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty and unpredictable.”
Earlier in the day, Antonelli won the sprint race ahead of Hamilton, pushing his championship advantage over Russell out to 43 points. The young Italian had reeled off five consecutive race wins before Hamilton snapped that streak in Spain last month.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Antonelli acknowledged the challenge posed by the two Ferraris directly behind him on the grid. “It’s not going to be easy because I have two Ferraris behind me and, for sure, they will work together,” he said. “Their pace is good but ours was strong in the Sprint. Hopefully we can keep that for tomorrow and do a good race.”
Isack Hadjar qualified fifth for Red Bull, with McLaren’s reigning world champion and defending British GP winner Lando Norris in sixth. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start seventh, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri eighth, and the Racing Bulls duo of rookie Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson rounded out the top ten.
