Antonelli seizes pole position in British Grand Prix Qualifying ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton

Kimi Antonelli will start from pole position for the fifth time this season after going quickest in Qualifying for the British Grand Prix, the Italian keeping the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at bay.

Antonelli had claimed provisional pole ahead of team mate George Russell during the opening runs of Q3 – and while the championship leader improved to record a 1m 28.111s on his final lap, his competitors were not able to better their efforts enough to topple him.

Leclerc did go faster but had to settle for P2, his lap 0.175s adrift of Antonelli’s, while Hamilton will start from third place at his home event. Russell fell back to fourth, and Isack Hadjar led Red Bull’s charge in fifth ahead of Lando Norris on what looked to be a tough day for McLaren.

Max Verstappen was seventh for Red Bull, the Dutchman seeming unhappy at the wheel of his RB22 in the session, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri claimed eighth and the Racing Bulls machines of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto just missed out on progressing to Q3 by 0.032s, leaving him in P11. Pierre Gasly placed in P12 for Alpine, though the Frenchman faces an investigation after the session for impeding.

The other Audi of Nico Hulkenberg classified in 13th, putting him ahead of Haas’ Ollie Bearman in P14 and the Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon on the eighth row in 15th and 16th.

Esteban Ocon – who has been summoned to the stewards for an alleged failure to slow for single yellow flags – exited Q1 in P17 for Haas, ahead of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas in P18, while Franco Colapinto wound up in 19th for Alpine after experiencing a bumpy run off track at Becketts, his excursion having caused the yellow flags in the aforementioned Ocon incident.

Behind them were the other Cadillac of Sergio Perez in 20th and the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso bringing up the rear in P21 and P22 respectively.

More to follow

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Hadjar fastest as Russell goes off track

Just hours on from an eventful Sprint at Silverstone, the drivers and teams prepared to switch their attentions to Qualifying, which would decide the starting order for Sunday’s British Grand Prix. After Hamilton claimed Sprint Qualifying pole on Friday, who would come out on top this time?

As 18 minutes went on the clock for the opening Q1 segment, a queue of cars quickly emerged onto the track from the pit lane, the majority running the soft tyres while the Audis opted to start with the medium compound.

“It’s very, very gusty on the start-finish line,” Bortoleto reported during the opening runs – just as Sainz experienced a lock-up in the windy conditions. Meanwhile the Ferrari pair were the first of the frontrunners to set their times, with Leclerc and Hamilton slotting into P1 and P2 respectively.

The yellow flags were thrown with just over 10 minutes to spare after Russell went off track at Luffield, the Briton having locked up before slowly running into the gravel trap and tapping the barriers with his front wing. While he was able to get going again and limp back to the pits, questions remained over how much damage the W17 might have picked up in the incident.

Meanwhile, with most of the pack having set a time, Leclerc remained on top with a lap of 1m 29.534s ahead of Hamilton and Antonelli – but those at risk were Bottas, Lawson, Alonso, Stroll, Russell and Bortoleto, with Russell having not put a lap on the board before his off-track excursion while Bortoleto was also without a time.

Lawson soon escaped the danger zone by surging up into fifth, while at Mercedes a quick front wing change had been carried out on Russell’s car, allowing the Briton to return to the track. He then managed to climb up to P5, which then became P6 after Lindblad moved into fourth.

While Gasly had been noted for impeding, his team mate Colapinto sparked a brief yellow flag after going off at Becketts. Meanwhile Hadjar and Verstappen shot up into P1 and P3 respectively for Red Bull – the former on an effort of 1m 29.276 – before Lawson again caught the eye by climbing to P2.

With Colapinto pitting following his bumpy off-track moment, the Argentinian found himself eliminated from the session in P19. Joining him in making an early exit were Ocon and Bottas ahead in 17th and 18th, along with Perez, Stroll and Alonso in 20th through to 22nd.

Knocked out: Ocon, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Stroll, Alonso

Q2 – Antonelli returns to the top

Amid the confirmation that Gasly would be investigated after the session for impeding at Turn 15, the remaining 16 drivers prepared for another 15 minutes of action in Q2. Hadjar – the fastest man in Q1 – and Verstappen were the first to hit the track before the rest of the pack soon joined them, all sporting the soft tyres.

“This engine is not responding as normal” Verstappen radioed in. As the first times went on the board, Hadjar remained ahead of his team mate by 0.125s – but they were both soon pushed down by the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, Hamilton having dipped into the 1m 28s at the top with his effort of 1m 28.864s.

Russell then slotted into P2, his lap only 0.056s adrift after setting the fastest middle sector of all. Meanwhile Antonelli in the other Mercedes had his time deleted due to track limits, leaving him with plenty to do – but the Italian managed to move up to P3 on a 1m 29.043s.

At the other end of the order, things did not look to be going well for McLaren, with Norris only just safe in P9 while Piastri had fallen into the danger zone in P11. The Australian was joined in the bottom six by Gasly, Bearman, Sainz, Albon and Hulkenberg, the latter also having had his effort deleted for exceeding track limits.

As Russell hopped out of his car in the garage after asking for a spare seat, the clock ticked down into the final minutes of Q2. Verstappen’s next effort, meanwhile, put the Dutchman in P6, leaving him to state over the radio: “What a disaster… Unbelievable.”

Elsewhere, Piastri managed to improve to seventh – but would it be enough to see him through to Q3? Norris also remained in P9, putting the Briton at risk as those behind him tried to better their efforts.

While Antonelli went quickest on a 1m 28.493s, all eyes were on the names in the danger zone to see if any could progress – but ultimately it was not to be, with Norris and Lawson in ninth and 10th able to breathe a sigh of relief as Bortoleto, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Sainz and Albon exited.

Knocked out: Bortoleto, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Sainz, Albon

Q3 – A fifth pole position in 2026 for Antonelli

The Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Racing Bulls pairings returned to action for Q3, ready to battle for their position in the top 10. Piastri was the first to hit the track off the back of his tricky Q2, while Lindblad remained in the garage during the opening runs, the Briton seemingly opting for one flying lap towards the end of the session.

As the first times went on the board, Hamilton initially put himself in P1 – but Antonelli soon stormed into the top spot on a lap of 1m 28.385s, while team mate Russell was only 0.96s adrift as he slotted into second place.

Hamilton and Leclerc were third and fourth, ahead of Hadjar, Verstappen, Piastri and Norris. Lawson was ninth – despite pitting at the end of his lap – and Lindblad was yet to hit the track. But would the order change again as the final decisive laps played out?

Antonelli was first out on track for the second runs, leading the Italian to question why this was the case over the radio, while Lindblad was noted for an unsafe release after a close moment in the pits, an incident that will be investigated after the session.

Antonelli went fastest of all on his middle sector, going even quicker on a 1m 28.111s – but could anybody else improve? Leclerc made gains to slot into P2 – his effort 0.175s behind Antonelli’s – while Hamilton placed in third, albeit with a larger deficit of three tenths to the pole man.

This dropped Russell from second to fourth, with Hadjar in fifth ahead of Norris, Verstappen and Piastri, while Lindblad outpaced team mate Lawson to claim ninth.

Key quote

"I was a bit stressed because I never really like going first for the last run," said Antonelli. "But yeah, the last lap was very tidy, I have to be honest. It all came together. It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty and unpredictable. But yeah, we built our way through Qualifying, and to bring home pole is very satisfying."

What's next

The 2026 British Grand Prix is set to begin at 1500 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action from Silverstone.