Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver delivering a 1:28.111 in the final moments of Qualifying to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.175s at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton will start third for Ferrari, 0.347s off pole, with George Russell fourth in the second Mercedes after recovering from a Q1 off at Luffield. Isack Hadjar took fifth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen seventh and Oscar Piastri eighth. Racing Bulls pair Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top 10.

Q1 opened with Ferrari setting the early pace on used Soft tyres, Leclerc initially leading team-mate Hamilton by just over a tenth. Mercedes waited before sending its cars out, but Russell’s first meaningful run ended in the gravel at Luffield after he understeered wide and made light contact near the barriers. He returned to the pits with front wing damage, but Mercedes repaired the car and sent him back out in time for him to progress.

The closing moments of Q1 were disrupted when Franco Colapinto spun at Becketts, bringing out yellow flags. The Alpine driver was able to return to the track, but his session was over. Gabriel Bortoleto improved late on to escape the drop zone, while Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Colapinto, Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were eliminated.

In Q2, Verstappen reported that his engine was “not responding as normal” as he began the segment on used Soft tyres. Hamilton briefly set the benchmark with a 1:28.864, ahead of Leclerc, while Russell showed no lasting effects from his earlier incident by moving to within 0.056s of the Ferrari.

Antonelli then produced a 1:28.493 to top the session, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Hadjar and Verstappen improved but remained fifth and sixth, while Piastri and Norris both had to complete late laps to secure their places in Q3. Bortoleto missed out in 11th, followed by Pierre Gasly, Nico Hülkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon.

Piastri was first to set a time in Q3 with a 1:29.231, before Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc moved ahead. Antonelli then took provisional pole with a 1:28.385, with Russell second and Hamilton third after the first runs.

On the final attempts, Antonelli improved again, setting a purple middle sector on his way to a 1:28.111. Russell could not match his team-mate, while Leclerc moved into second with a 1:28.286. Hamilton took third in 1:28.458, just ahead of Russell.

Hadjar secured fifth with a 1:28.746, with Norris sixth, Verstappen seventh and Piastri eighth. Lindblad out-qualified Racing Bulls team-mate Lawson to take ninth, with Lawson 10th.

Antonelli will therefore start from pole at Silverstone, with Leclerc alongside him on the front row and Hamilton and Russell sharing row two.

2026 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28.111 - -
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.286 0.175 0.199
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:28.458 0.347 0.394
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.481 0.370 0.420
5 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:28.746 0.635 0.721
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.877 0.766 0.869
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:28.893 0.782 0.888
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.032 0.921 1.045
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:29.305 1.194 1.355
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:29.716 1.605 1.822
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:29.461 1.350 1.532
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:30.063 1.952 2.215
13 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:30.076 1.965 2.230
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:30.501 2.390 2.712
15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:30.623 2.512 2.851
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.341 3.230 3.666
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:30.680 2.569 2.916
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:31.227 3.116 3.536
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:31.321 3.210 3.643
20 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:31.451 3.340 3.791
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:32.863 4.752 5.393
22 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:33.025 4.914 5.577