Lewis Hamilton has once again hailed his home crowd at Silverstone after a brilliant afternoon at one of F1’s greatest tracks.

The seven-time world champion took pole for Saturday’s sprint race after dominating Friday’s sprint qualifying session, setting the fastest time in each of the three segments to leave fans in no doubt as to who the race favourite should be.

The much-lauded ‘Landostand’ may have been slightly disappointed to see their man qualify just sixth after a tough day on the track – with fellow Brits George Russell (fifth) and Avrid Lindblad (tenth) also in the top 10 for the Saturday morning sprint race start.

They hid that disappointment well though, roaring on Hamilton on a weekend where he could become the first driver in F1 history to win ten grands prix at a single circuit.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: British Grand Prix timesheets and grid positions

Hamilton: I love this place

Speaking after the sprint qualifying session, the 41-year-old said: “I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can’t express to you how big a dream it is, and still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you.

“The car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max.

“I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the session but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here.” 

Hamilton’s record at his home track is one of the most astonishing in the sport’s history, with his fourth place finish last year representing the first time since 2013 that he failed to stand on the podium at a race at Silverstone – a 12-race run, including the bonus 70th Anniversary race in the Covid season of 2020.

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Lewis Hamilton threw down the gauntlet to his F1 rivals on Friday lunchtime at Silverstone, setting the fastest time of free practice by more than two tenths of a second over championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

The seven-time world champion was more than half a second clear of any other driver – with team-mate Charles Leclerc third on the timing sheets at nearly sixth tenths of a second back – and more than a second up on reigning champion Lando Norris.

The session was the only practice running that teams will get this weekend, with sprint qualifying hot on its heels later on Friday in place of FP2 and the sprint race replacing FP3.

Oscar Piastri sparked the only minor on-track excitement during the session when he spun off in Becketts, but kept his white and green McLaren out of the barriers to prevent any damage worse then a wrecked set of tyres.

READ MORE: Hamilton and Ferrari enter ‘decisive phase’ as contract decision approaches

British Grand Prix FP1 times

Is there F1 today?

Sprint qualifying is next up on Friday, July 3, at 16:30 (local time/BST). To read the complete breakdown of the times and how to watch in select locations click here.

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Max Verstappen has joked that his Red Bull F1 team may have to sacrifice their food if they want to get back to winning ways.

Red Bull have struggled so far in 2026, with Verstappen unable to claim a single grand prix victory as of yet, and looking a long way off any potential fight for a fifth title.

His team are fourth in the constructors’ championship, and at many race weekends this year he has found himself in a battle with the likes of Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman, rather than the Ferrari or Mercedes drivers.

It has led to rumours that the four-time champion might depart the Milton Keynes-based outfit, but as things stand, he is trying to help them to become a podium-challenging outfit once more.

Now, Verstappen has joked that if the team want to bring upgrades, they may have to sacrifice their catering department, due to the budget cap in the sport which incorporates all sorts of costs that the teams lay out.

“Is that possible with the budget cap? Yes, of course,” Verstappen told media following Austrian GP qualifying. “Then we’ll just have to spend a little less on catering!”

READ MORE: Toto Wolff announces 2027 Mercedes driver lineup’

Will Red Bull improve enough to keep Verstappen?

Red Bull brought some upgrades to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, but that has not worked out quite how they would have wanted it to.

They have taken quite a radical approach to their development, and Verstappen will be buoyed to know that he is driving the car that has the best power unit on the grid, according to the FIA’s recent ADUO ruling.

But a driver of Verstappen’s talents should not be squabbling over fifth or sixth during grand prix sessions, and the Dutchman may seek to look elsewhere for 2027 unless something massively changes.

Verstappen’s manager revealed that he does have exit clauses in his Red Bull contract, which would allow him to leave if certain performance metrics are not being met by the team.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has a huge job on his hands to prove to Verstappen that the team can improve enough to allow him to win more grands prix and championships in the future.

READ MORE: Red Bull issue Verstappen apology after Austrian Grand Prix crash

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