Strategy

2026 British GP Sprint Qualifying: Hamilton takes Sprint pole by the narrowest of margins

Answer

Confirmed

Lewis Hamilton claimed Sprint pole for Ferrari at the 2026 British Grand Prix, setting a 1m 28.376s to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds. Max Verstappen qualified third, with Charles Leclerc fourth. George Russell and Lando Norris filled an all-British third row. This result sets the grid for Saturday's Sprint race, not Sunday's Grand Prix.

Sprint Qualifying classification: top ten

This result sets the grid for Saturday's Sprint race at Silverstone. It has no bearing on Sunday's British Grand Prix starting positions, which are determined by a separate Grand Prix qualifying session.

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap
1	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1m 28.376s	,
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1m 28.387s	+0.011s
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1m 28.697s	+0.321s
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1m 28.703s	+0.327s
5	George Russell	Mercedes	1m 28.733s	+0.357s
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	1m 28.740s	+0.364s
7	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1m 28.772s	+0.396s
8	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	1m 28.835s	+0.459s
9	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1m 28.927s	+0.551s
10	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1m 29.367s	+0.991s

^[2]

SQ1: Hamilton sets the tone on mediums

Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone ran on a dry, fast track on Friday evening, with all drivers required to use the Pirelli medium compound through SQ1 and SQ2 before switching to softs for the SQ3 shootout. Hamilton immediately established authority, topping SQ1 with a 1m 29.273s; Leclerc and Hadjar followed him in second and third at the end of the segment. ^[1]

At the foot of the timesheets, Aston Martin, Cadillac and Haas all found themselves in or near the elimination zone throughout SQ1. A late improvement from Alex Albon pushed Ollie Bearman into the drop zone and sent the Haas driver out of the session. ^[5] The six drivers eliminated in SQ1 were Bearman, Esteban Ocon (Haas), Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas (both Cadillac), Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (both Aston Martin), with Stroll finishing 3.7 seconds off Hamilton's benchmark. ^[1] Both Aston Martin cars exiting in the opening segment continued a difficult run of form for the team. ^[6]

SQ2: Norris carries damage, Russell scrapes through

Hamilton carried his SQ1 momentum directly into the 10-minute SQ2 segment, recording the fastest time of 1m 28.747s. Antonelli slotted second, 0.099 seconds back, with Leclerc third, and the top-three order was unchanged at the chequered flag. ^[1]

McLaren team principal Zak Brown confirmed that Lando Norris had sustained minor damage to his front brake duct during SQ1. Norris was classified seventh in SQ2 but still progressed to the final shootout. ^[1] George Russell also had a difficult passage through SQ2, securing his SQ3 place only with a late improvement. ^[11]

The six drivers eliminated in SQ2 were Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto (both Alpine), Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg (both Audi), Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon (both Williams). ^[11] Both Red Bull cars and both Racing Bulls cars advanced to SQ3. ^[4]

SQ3: Antonelli provisional pole, Hamilton snatches it on the final lap

In the eight-minute SQ3 shootout, Oscar Piastri set the opening benchmark of 1m 28.772s. Norris then beat him by a few hundredths of a second. ^[4] Antonelli went to provisional pole with a 1m 28.387s, but Hamilton, on his only timed SQ3 run, crossed the line with a 1m 28.376s to claim Sprint pole by 0.011 seconds. ^[3]

The result marked Hamilton's first sprint pole since the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. ^[7] Verstappen qualified third for Red Bull, 0.321s off the pace; Leclerc was fourth in the second Ferrari, separated from his teammate by just 0.006s at the top of the order. ^[2] George Russell and Lando Norris occupied the third row, forming an all-British pairing. ^[6]

:::analysis Antonelli is understood to have held the best combined theoretical lap time across all three sectors in SQ3, yet Hamilton stitched together a more cohesive single lap to convert pole. That distinction matters in sprint qualifying, where drivers rarely have the luxury of a second flying attempt in SQ3. Russell's difficulty matching his younger teammate across all three segments suggests the Mercedes balance may require further work before Sunday's Grand Prix qualifying. Meanwhile, both Racing Bulls drivers reaching SQ3, with Lindblad on his first British GP weekend, is a notable achievement for the team across a compact sprint format. :::

Incidents and red flags

No red flags or significant incidents were recorded during Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone. Norris's brake duct damage was noted but did not cause a session interruption, and he continued through all three segments. ^[9]

Sprint grid rows 6 to 11

Positions 11 through 16 on the Sprint grid were filled by Gasly (Alpine, 1m 29.482s), Bortoleto (Audi, 1m 29.679s), Hulkenberg (Audi, 1m 29.707s), Colapinto (Alpine, 1m 29.983s), Sainz (Williams) and Albon (Williams). Rows 9 to 11 were completed by the six drivers eliminated in SQ1. ^[7]