Hamilton secured pole position for the sprint race, finishing ahead of championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton carried his dominant pace from practice sessions into sprint qualifying; he was fastest in all three sessions and beat Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds in a one-lap battle in SQ3.
The British driver delighted the enthusiastic home crowd with a spectacular lap. However, a major swerve on the exit of the final corner suggested that the 41-year-old driver, who is regaining his form, still had more time left.
Hamilton, who is chasing his 10th British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone, which would push his record a step further, described his sprint pole position as a "magnificent surprise".
Lewis Hamilton secured sprint pole position at Silverstone, finishing just 0.011 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli! The 41-year-old driver thrilled the home crowd: “A fantastic surprise.” 🇬🇧🏁 The sprint race is on Saturday at 2 PM CEST. #F1 #BritishGP #Hamilton #FrenYok…
— Fren Yok (@frenyok46) July 3, 2026
“"I love this track and this crowd."”
“I love it here, I love this crowd, and I can’t tell you how big a dream this is. Even today, preparing for this race, you’re thinking about every corner and the rhythm you can get into on this track if you get the right setup; if you have the right team behind you,” said Hamilton.
“The vehicle felt great today; thanks to everyone at the factory, they keep pushing it relentlessly. We brought in little pieces here. We come up with a new innovation every weekend. Everyone is pushing it to the limit.”
The British driver emphasized that he was grateful for securing pole position.
“I’m so grateful to have taken this pole position. I was fast throughout the entire session, but it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these names. The team really deserved it, a huge thank you to everyone here.”
Verstappen finished third, with Britons dominating the top 10.
Max Verstappen was the third fastest, 0.321 seconds behind in Red Bull. Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was fourth, while Mercedes driver George Russell was fifth, almost four tenths of a second behind.
Lando Norris, after overcoming a scare, narrowly made it to the final section of sprint qualifying; despite McLaren having to repair damage to one of its brake ducts, Norris managed to set the sixth fastest time.
Isack Hadjar finished eighth; ahead of him were Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls and F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad. Thus, four of the five British drivers managed to finish in the top 10.
Pierre Gasly took 11th place on the grid, followed by the Audi duo Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto; second-placed Alpine driver Franco Colapinto was 14th fastest.
Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were the slowest drivers in SQ2, only managing times that would have placed them 15th and 16th for Williams.
Both Haas cars were eliminated in the first part of qualifying; Ollie Bearman finished 17th and his teammate Esteban Ocon 18th.
Sergio Pérez once again overtook his teammate Valtteri Bottas; the Cadillac duo were eliminated in SQ1, finishing 19th and 20th respectively.
Aston Martin took its usual place at the back of the grid; Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were well behind the pace, finishing 21st and 22nd respectively.
The 17-lap sprint race will start on Saturday at 14:00 GMT+3 (12:00 local time).
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