Mercedes opted to send Kimi Antonelli out first during qualifying for the British Grand Prix, a move the driver initially disagreed with. However, the strategy paid off as the championship leader delivered a stellar lap time of 1:28.111, securing pole position on Saturday afternoon.

“I was a bit anxious because I’ve never really liked being the first to go out for the final run, but the second half of the lap came together really well,” Antonelli said to F1TV. “To be honest, everything just clicked. The wind made it quite challenging as it was gusty and unpredictable. But we kept improving through qualifying, and to end up with pole feels really rewarding.”

Antonelli will face pressure from two Ferraris behind him, as Charles Leclerc regained form to claim a front-row start, while Lewis Hamilton expressed disappointment with third position.

The Ferrari teammates experienced contrasting emotions about their starting grid results. Leclerc was delighted to put behind a string of difficult races and underwhelming performances from recent weeks.

“I’m very happy,” Leclerc said. “It’s been a tough few races where I’ve struggled to find the right balance and couldn’t bring everything together. On Sundays, we sometimes couldn’t even score points. So to finally get that good feeling back — after so much hard work behind the scenes to regain confidence in the car — is really encouraging. Today was the first time in a while that everything felt right again. It’s a positive step forward, even though I know consistency has been a challenge recently.”

In contrast, Hamilton felt he lost some of the momentum he had built earlier in the weekend, which included topping Friday’s practice session, taking pole in the Sprint, and finishing second in the Sprint race earlier in the day.

“Am I satisfied?” Hamilton repeated. “Of course not. I’m starting P3, but I’m happy to be up here. These guys did a great job today. Charles has clearly been improving, and unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace of the Mercedes. That’s been the story for a while, but we’re closing the gap slowly. Having both Ferraris in the top three is still a good result for the team.”

Antonelli will have the two Ferraris separating him from his Mercedes teammate and closest title rival, George Russell. Leclerc and Hamilton may try to use each other strategically to challenge Antonelli, though race pace suggests it might be difficult for them to hold off Antonelli and Russell over the full race distance.

Isack Hadjar continued his impressive qualifying form, setting the second-fastest time in Q1 and outperforming his teammate, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who qualified fifth.

Defending champion Lando Norris will start sixth, splitting the two Red Bull Racing drivers, with Verstappen in seventh. Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri secured eighth place.

The Racing Bulls continued to dominate the midfield, with both drivers making it into Q3. Arvid Lindbald will start ninth, while Liam Lawson completes the top ten.