Antonelli completes perfect Saturday with dominant Silverstone pole

George Russell endured an early scare during Q1 at Silverstone after running off the track at Turn 6 and making light contact with the barriers. Despite ending up in the gravel, the Mercedes driver avoided significant damage and was able to return to the pits. After the team carried out a brief inspection, he headed back out and set a lap that comfortably secured his progression to Q2.

Isack Hadjar topped the timesheets, with Liam Lawson emerging as a surprise second ahead of Charles Leclerc. Nico Hulkenberg also impressed by going fourth, while Max Verstappen completed the top five ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli finished eighth, with George Russell eventually qualifying 10th.

Knocked out in Q1 were Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Franco Colapinto, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

Q2 saw Kimi Antonelli top the timesheets with a 1:28.493, one tenth clear of Charles Leclerc and three tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton. George Russell finished fourth, with Isack Hadjar rounding out the top five. Max Verstappen posted the sixth-fastest time ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Lando Norris narrowly avoided elimination by finishing only ninth. Liam Lawson claimed the final spot in Q3.

Eliminated in Q2 were Gabriel Bortoleto, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon.

The opening runs in Q3 saw Antonelli take provisional pole by just 0.096s over his team-mate. Hamilton was third after a small mistake cost him valuable time, while Leclerc slotted into fourth. Isack Hadjar impressed by finishing four tenths clear of Verstappen.

Antonelli improved once again on his final run, setting a 1:28.111 to seal pole position. The two Ferraris also improved, with Leclerc taking second, just under two tenths behind, while Hamilton secured third. Russell was unable to better his previous lap and dropped to fourth, while Verstappen could manage only seventh.