Antonelli secures British Grand Prix pole ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli posted the fastest lap in qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.175 seconds and putting Lewis Hamilton in third place. Antonelli, who had won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, improved his time by nearly three-tenths of a second on his final lap to secure the pole.

"I was a bit stressed because I never really like going first for the last run but the last lap was very tidy. It came all together," Antonelli said.

Leclerc’s second-place qualifying marked his first time ahead of Hamilton since the Miami Grand Prix in May, and he described the performance as a positive step after a period of difficulty with the car.

"I am pleased. It has been a few tough races when the feeling was not quite right, struggling to put everything together. This was the first time I had it back," Leclerc said.

Hamilton, who finished third, expressed disappointment with the result but noted progress for the team.

"Of course I'm not satisfied. I'm third. Both these guys did a great job today. Charles has been doing good improvements and we just didn't have the pace of the Mercedes but we are slowly closing the gap," Hamilton said.

George Russell, who crashed on his first qualifying lap and damaged his front wing, qualified behind Antonelli and described ongoing issues with straight-line speed affecting all Mercedes-powered cars.

"I was losing all my speed on the straight. We don't know what's going on. The team are working hard to find out what it is," Russell said.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen reported a similar mystery speed problem on the straight, saying it reduced throttle efficiency and increased battery consumption.

"We were terribly slow on the straight for whatever reason. It’s very painful. It's something we need to understand for tomorrow," Verstappen said.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who qualified tenth, said the team struggled with overall pace, citing insufficient downforce and excessive drag.

"We are just slow in the straight, slow in every corner, the air is not very efficient, we lack downforce and we have too much drag," Norris said.

British rookie Arvid Lindblad qualified eighth, his best result of the season, and praised the team’s effort despite acknowledging the difficulty of matching the top teams.

"Overall, it's good. The team have given us a fast car, both cars in Q3. It wasn't as plain sailing as I would have hoped," Lindblad said.