ANTONELLI TAKES A BRILLIANT POLE POSITION AT SILVERSTONE AS FERRARI FIGHTS IN FRONT
Kimi Antonelli delivered a fantastic performance in qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, taking his fifth pole position of the 2026 season. The Mercedes driver put his W17 at the top of the timesheets and showed once again why he is leading the championship.
Behind him, Ferrari had a strong recovery after a difficult start to the weekend. Charles Leclerc secured second place, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top three, giving the Scuderia two cars on the second row of the grid. George Russell had a disappointing session, finishing fourth and almost four tenths slower than his teammate.
The surprise of qualifying was Isack Hadjar, who continued his excellent form by beating Max Verstappen and taking fifth place. The Red Bull driver struggled throughout the session, admitting that he had poor confidence in his car.
In Q1, George Russell had a big scare when he went off track at Luffield and touched the barriers. Luckily, he only damaged his front wing and was able to continue. Ferrari had a calm start, with both Leclerc and Hamilton reaching Q2 without using a new set of soft tyres.
Hadjar was the fastest driver in the opening session, finishing ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls. Several drivers were eliminated, including Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Franco Colapinto, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
In Q2, Mercedes continued to show strong pace. Hamilton initially led the session, with Leclerc close behind, but Antonelli improved later and moved to the top of the standings. Red Bull struggled, with Verstappen complaining about the feeling of his RB22 and describing the car as difficult to drive.
McLaren also had problems, with Lando Norris close to elimination before improving late in the session. Antonelli finished Q2 fastest ahead of Leclerc, while Racing Bulls confirmed their strong performance by putting both cars into Q3.
The final qualifying session belonged to Antonelli. The Italian produced a perfect final lap to set a time of 1:28.111 and secure pole position. Leclerc came close but had to settle for second, while Hamilton completed the top three for Ferrari.
Russell was the biggest loser of the session, finishing fourth and far behind Antonelli. Hadjar impressed again with fifth place, ahead of Norris and Verstappen. The Dutchman never found the right balance with his Red Bull and could only qualify seventh.
Oscar Piastri took eighth place, followed by Racing Bulls drivers Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, who completed the top ten.
With Mercedes showing strong pace and Ferrari returning to the front, the British Grand Prix promises to be an exciting race. Antonelli will start from pole, but behind him several drivers will be ready to fight for victory.
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