Hamilton relieved to hold off Ferrari drivers to take Silverstone pole
Lewis Hamilton came out on top of a thrilling duel with Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen to take pole position for today’s British Grand Prix.
The Mercedes-GP driver, bidding to win the race for a record sixth time, had been slower than championship leader Vettel after their first runs in the final part of qualifying.
But a lap record of 1 minute, 25.892 seconds around the Silverstone track saw him beat Vettel by 0.044 seconds and claim his 76th career pole position, with Raikkonen fractionally slower as he was 0.098 seconds behind.
Hamilton said in a trackside interview: “I gave it everything I could. It was so close between these Ferraris – they pulled something out for Q3.”
Hamilton has won the race the past four years with Mercedes, and in 2008 when he raced for McLaren, and he shares the record for most victories in the event on five at present with Jim Clark and Alain Prost.
If Hamilton is triumphant today to win for the 66th time in his career he will also regain the championship lead, which he lost to Vettel in Austria last weekend, as he trails the German by one point.
However Vettel, who has only won at Silverstone once in 2009 for Red Bull Racing, was optimistic that starting second can give him the chance to fight for victory in the 52-lap race, which starts at 5.10pm UAE time. “It was very close,” said the German.
“The last lap I was very happy with, but I lost a lot of pace in the straight but I’m happy with second and it gives us a chance for tomorrow.”
Raikkonen, a winner at Silverstone in 2007, felt he could have got more out of his final lap, and believes he and Vettel are well placed to give Ferrari a first success at the race since 2011.
“I think I had all the tools today to be faster but lost the front wheel going into Turn 16 in the last lap,” the Finn said. “I think my car should be good for tomorrow. It will not be easy. You might see a few different things tomorrow. We will aim for the top for sure.”
The two Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of the two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.
Charles Leclerc continued his impressive season as he qualified ninth in his Sauber, with the Force India of Esteban Ocon completing the top 10.