F1 British GP: Lewis Hamilton claims sprint pole ahead…

F1 British GP: Lewis Hamilton claims sprint pole ahead of Kimi Antonelli

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Formula 1's British Grand Prix sprint, holding off his Mercedes successor Kimi Antonelli at Silverstone.

In a single-lap shoot-out on soft tyres, Antonelli set the provisionally fastest time, only for Hamilton to dip a mere 0.011s below the Italian's effort to clinch his first sprint pole since last year's Chinese Grand prix.

Hamilton's 1m28.376s lap was a full three tenths faster than what Red Bull's Max Verstappen could muster, with the Dutchman narrowly bumping Charles Leclerc to fourth.

In the second Mercedes, George Russell suffered a difficult SQ3 segment, losing two tenths through Silverstone's first sector on his way to fifth on the grid.

As expected before the weekend, McLaren struggled for performance compared to Mercedes and Ferrari, with a less aerodynamically efficient car, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took sixth and seventh respectively.

Lando Norris took sixth in qualifying for Saturday's sprint (Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Isack Hadjar was eighth in the second Red Bull, while Racing Bulls continued its impressive streak of form by making it into SQ3 with both cars as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10.

Hamilton led the first barrage of laps from Antonelli in SQ2, which was run on Pirelli's medium tyres. Last year's British GP winner Norris survived a scare when he only just scraped through in 10th.

There was some improvement at Alpine after a tough Austrian weekend, but Pierre Gasly was still knocked out in 11th, followed by Audi duo Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Franco Colapinto was 14th in the second Alpine, ahead of the two Williams cars of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.

In SQ1, none of the heavy hitters were under significant pressure, although Norris' effort only left him 10th as Hamilton led Leclerc - foreshadowing what would be a tricky session for the world champion.

At the back of the grid, Williams survived the segment with both cars, as Sainz held off a disappointed Oliver Bearman by 0.010s for the 16th and final spot. Both Haas cars were eliminated with Esteban Ocon in 19th, followed by both drivers from Cadillac and Aston Martin.

F1 British GP: Sprint qualifying results