It’s Coming Home: Lewis Hamilton revives Silverstone magic with sprint pole

For England fans, three words have become both an anthem and an optimistic premonition. So far, any rendition of Three Lions has so far failed to bring any footballing success.

Since David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds first released Three Lions ahead of Euro '96, the song has transcended football. It's become shorthand for hope against the odds, a belief that maybe, just maybe, this time will be different.

Every few years it ends in heartbreak. But every now and then, there are moments that make the optimism feel justified. Silverstone on Friday evening felt like one of those moments for Lewis Hamilton and gave the capacity crowd a feeling, a dream that “It's coming home.”

After months of frustration adapting to life at Ferrari, after endless questions over whether the seven-time World Champion had lost the edge that made him Formula 1's most successful driver, Hamilton delivered in his home race. Coming after his maiden Ferrari win in Barcelona, this was a timely moment.

Under the roar of his crowd, he snatched sprint pole in dramatic fashion, reminding everyone that some relationships simply refuse to fade. As he punched the air, it was impossible not to be swept up in the achievement.

There is something about this circuit that extracts the very best from Britain's greatest Formula 1 driver. Whether dressed in Mercedes black or Ferrari red, Hamilton seems to find another gear around Northamptonshire.

You could almost hear the chorus ringing around the grandstands as he climbed from the cockpit. The previous day, I caught up with him in the F1 paddock at Silverstone and he told me how hard it would be for his Ferrari team at this old circuit that is dominated by long straights that suit the Mercedes.

So it was a surprise to see him go quickest of all during sprint qualifying, rolling back the years with a vintage Hamilton performance that left fans wondering if he will again be brining ‘home’ the result come Sunday.

While Hamilton found the perfect lap when the pressure peaked, several of his biggest British rivals endured a far less memorable evening.

George Russell arrived at Silverstone having enjoyed arguably the strongest and most consistent weekend of his season so far. Yet on Friday he found himself overshadowed by Hamilton, his former teammate, and by the teenager occupying Hamilton's old seat.

Kimi Antonelli once again demonstrated why Mercedes invested so heavily in his extraordinary talent. The Italian rookie looked assured, composed and, crucially, faster when it counted.

For Russell, whose reputation has been built on relentlessly extracting maximum performance, being eclipsed by an 19-year-old teammate is not the headline he would have wanted in front of a home audience.

Then there was Lando Norris. If Hamilton supplied the feel-good story of the day, Norris endured another frustrating reminder that pace alone does not guarantee results.

Sixth on the sprint grid is hardly disastrous, but not where the defending world champion wants to be. For years British Formula 1 has searched for the next home hero.

Norris is a world champion while Russell has become a seven-time F1 race winner. Yet when the pressure intensified at sunny Silverstone, it was the oldest hand who produced the defining lap.

Does sprint pole mean Ferrari has suddenly solved every performance issue? Of course not. Does it guarantee Hamilton victory across the weekend? Far from it. But it provides hope, hope that it is coming home come Sunday in F1 at least.