Kimi Antonelli qualifies on pole for the British grand prix, building on earlier sprint victory

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The Mercedes driver set a fastest lap of 1m 28.111 to beat Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the front three separated by less than three tenths of a second.

Antonelli’s pole came after he also won the Sprint earlier in the day, giving him a perfect Saturday and extending his lead at the top of the world championship to 43.

It was another statement performance from the 19-year-old, who will start Sunday’s race from pole position. This is the championship leader’s fifth career pole.

“It all came together,” said Antonelli. “We built our way through qualifying and to bring the pole home is very satisfying."

Leclerc will line up alongside Antonelli on the front row after qualifying second, while Hamilton starts third for Ferrari after missing out on a place ahead of his team-mate in the closing stages.

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George Russell, in the second Mercedes, who had been provisional second at one stage, was pipped by the Ferraris towards the end of qualifying and has to settle for fourth.

Russell’s session could have ended much worse after he crashed in Q1 and damaged his front wing against the barriers at Luffield, forcing Mercedes into repairs. Despite that setback, he recovered well enough to secure a spot on the second row.

Isack Hadjar produced a standout performance to qualify fifth, finishing two places ahead of Max Verstappen in seventh.

This is the first time Hadjar has outqualified his four-time world champion teammate. Lando Norris took sixth for McLaren, with Oscar Piastri eighth as the team found itself off the pace compared with its home race performance of a year ago.

The result means Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all go into Sunday’s Grand Prix with realistic hopes of fighting at the front, even if Antonelli has the advantage of starting from pole. A

fter qualifying, Lewis Hamilton said that the Ferraris would work together: "Am I satisfied? Of course not, I'm P3…but It's definitely great to have both of us here.

“Because, whether or not we can fully keep up with Kimi we’ll see, but hopefully we can play with the strategy and work as a team to try to topple them. We will do our best for sure."

Full qualifying results

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
6. Lando Norris (McLaren)
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
10. Arvid Lindblad (Red Bull)
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
16. Alexander Albon (Williams)
17. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
18. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
19. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
20. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
21. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)