Kimi Antonelli Wary of Ferrari at Silverstone 2026

Kimi Antonelli is wary of the threat from the two Ferrari cars starting directly behind him in the 2026 British Grand Prix, after the Mercedes driver secured pole position at Silverstone.

Antonelli posted a 1m28.111s to claim his first Silverstone pole. He finished 0.175s clear of Charles Leclerc in second, while Lewis Hamilton put the second Ferrari inside the top three by qualifying third.

"Yeah, for sure, it's not going to be easy, you know," Antonelli said.

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"I've got two Ferraris behind me, and for sure they're going to work together, but their pace is good," he added.

The strategic context is significant because Ferrari has two cars able to pressure Antonelli from the start. Mercedes, by contrast, has George Russell in fourth, more than three tenths behind his team-mate in qualifying.

Antonelli still carries strong momentum from the Sprint, where he was able to stay with Hamilton before using the overtake mode activation zone to pass and then pull away to victory. With his championship lead now standing at 43 points after the Sprint, the main race gives him a major opportunity to extend the gap.

"But ours was strong in the sprint race, so hopefully we can keep that tomorrow, and hopefully we can do a good race," Antonelli said.

Antonelli also admitted he felt pressure before the final Q3 run, particularly because he does not enjoy being first on track for the last attempt. However, he felt his final lap was clean despite gusty and unpredictable wind conditions at Silverstone.

"I mean, was a bit stressed because I never really liked going first for the last run, but the last lap was very tidy," Antonelli said.

"I have to be honest, it came all together. It was very tricky with the wind, because it was very gusty and unpredictable, but we built our way through qualifying, and to bring the pole home is very satisfying," he added.

With pole, Sprint pace and a growing championship advantage, Antonelli is in a strong position to control the race. However, Ferrari's front-row pressure means the start, energy deployment and tyre management will be central to deciding the fight for victory at Silverstone.