Lewis Hamilton in Ekstase: Sprint-Pole beim Großen Preis von Großbritannien sorgt für Jubelsturm
Lewis Hamilton sent Silverstone wild by securing pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the British Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver rose brilliantly to the occasion in front of his adoring home crowd to see off Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will line up from third for Saturday’s 17-lap dash to the chequered flag, one place ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerlc. George Russell finished a disappointing fifth.
Hamilton insists he is not thinking about winning a record eighth world crown, but his performance here will do little to dampen a growing feeling that he is in the hunt for this year’s title.
After Antonelli laid down a benchmark, the pressure was on Hamilton to deliver. But as he has done so often before, particularly at the British Grand Prix where no other driver can match his record nine wins, he pulled out a magic lap with his one stab at glory.
“We are showing up every weekend with something and everyone has pushed to the max and I am really grateful I got that pole. It was very close to these guys.
“We are ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull and these guys have so much power. But my team just won’t let up and they keep pushing.
“It won’t always be like this. We didn’t expect we would be competing for the front row, but this is an amazing surprise and I am ecstatic. I don’t remember the last time I started on the front row here.”
Russell, 40 points off the title pace, had hoped to carry his winning momentum over from Austria.
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But just five days after a victory which breathed fresh life into his stuttering campaign, the title contender was alarmingly out of sorts at a track which usually favours his driving style. He finished 0.357secs back.
The 16,000 fans crammed into the ‘Landostand’ named after the world champion held their breath between Q2 and Q3 as Norris’ mechanics worked frantically on the front end of his McLaren.
