Lewis Hamilton Takes British GP F1 Sprint Pole in 2026

Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the 2026 British Grand Prix Sprint after leading Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone Circuit. The Ferrari driver recorded a 1:28.376 to beat Kimi Antonelli by only 0.011 seconds.

Hamilton and Antonelli had emerged as the leading pole contenders after demonstrating strong pace in first practice. Antonelli briefly led SQ3 with a 1:28.387 for Mercedes, before Hamilton responded during the closing stages of the session.

Max Verstappen placed Red Bull Racing third but finished 0.321 seconds behind Hamilton. Charles Leclerc qualified the second Ferrari fourth, 0.327 seconds slower than his team-mate.

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George Russell completed the top five, while Lando Norris again outqualified his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. They will start the Sprint from sixth and seventh respectively.

Isack Hadjar took eighth for Red Bull, followed by the Racing Bulls pairing of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top 10.

Hamilton now holds the strategically important inside position for the start, but his narrow margin over Antonelli places Ferrari and Mercedes in a direct contest. Verstappen, Leclerc and Russell are also close enough to capitalise on the launch, tyre degradation and overtaking opportunities around Silverstone.

2026 British Grand Prix F1 Sprint Qualifying Results

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:28.376
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:28.387
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:28.697
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:28.703
5	George Russell	Mercedes	1:28.733
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:28.740
7	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:28.772
8	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:28.835
9	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:28.927
10	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:29.367
11	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:29.482
12	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:29.679
13	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:29.707
14	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:29.983
15	Carlos Sainz	Williams Racing	1:30.197
16	Alexander Albon	Williams Racing	1:30.650
17	Oliver Bearman	Haas	1:31.083
18	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:31.714
19	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:31.776
20	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:32.020
21	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:32.910
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:32.988

Sprint pole represents an important result for Hamilton in front of his home crowd, but the 0.011-second advantage leaves no significant margin for error. The launch into the opening corner and tyre management will determine whether Ferrari can convert its single-lap pace into a Sprint victory at Silverstone.