Kimi Antonelli Secures British Grand Prix Pole in Gusty Silverstone Qualifying

Following a sensational victory in the morning’s Sprint, Kimi Antonelli continued his phenomenal weekend by storming to pole position for the 2026 British Grand Prix. The Mercedes teenager mastered the gusty conditions at Silverstone to beat Charles Leclerc and home favourite Lewis Hamilton in a tense qualifying session.

Wind wreaks havoc in Q1

While the track temperature remained warm, a dramatic increase in wind speed, particularly a heavy tailwind down the Hangar Straight, made the 25-degree afternoon incredibly challenging for the drivers.

The treacherous conditions caught out several big names early on. George Russell suffered a massive understeer moment at Luffield that sent his Mercedes bumping through the gravel trap. Fortunately for the British driver, he managed to limp back to the pits without sustaining terminal floor damage and eventually survived the drop zone.

Here's a look at what happened to Russell 👀#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/7x2uI5CW1o

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026

Franco Colapinto was far less fortunate. The Alpine driver lost the rear of his car at Becketts in the closing moments of the session, spinning at high speed and bouncing backwards over the grass. The resulting yellow flags ruined the final flying laps for several drivers. Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Colapinto, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were all eliminated in the first segment.

Feo el incidente de Franco Colapinto, iba de pasajero el argentino rebotando entre el infield y la pista.

Todo ok con el 43 de Alpine.#BritishGP pic.twitter.com/obC2nlxtfU

— Alonso, the Racer (@alonso_theracer) July 4, 2026

Red Bull struggles in Q2

As Q2 got underway, the focus shifted to Red Bull’s ongoing pace and reliability concerns. Max Verstappen immediately took to the radio to complain that his engine was not responding normally, citing severe deployment issues. The reigning champion was visibly frustrated and found himself consistently outpaced by his teammate Isack Hadjar.

Meanwhile, the battle to escape the drop zone was fierce. Lando Norris barely squeaked through to Q3 while Oscar Piastri managed to drag his uncooperative McLaren into the top 10. Pierre Gasly missed out by the narrowest of margins to join Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon on the elimination list.

Antonelli reigns supreme in Q3

The final 13-minute shootout proved that Mercedes and Ferrari were in a league of their own over a single lap. Antonelli set the early benchmark with a blisteringly fast 1m 28.385s to take provisional pole ahead of Russell, Hamilton and Leclerc.

On the final runs, Antonelli found even more time. The youngster painted the timing screens purple in the middle sector, crossing the line with an untouchable 1m 28.111s. Leclerc delivered a stunning final effort to split the Mercedes-powered cars and grab second place on the grid, finishing 0.175s behind the pole-sitter.

Hamilton experienced an adventure in the middle sector on his final flying lap, losing crucial time that relegated the Sprint polesitter to third. Russell could not improve on his final run and had to settle for fourth.

Further back, Hadjar impressively out-qualified Verstappen to take fifth while Norris and Piastri secured the fourth row for McLaren.

British Grand Prix Starting Grid (Top 10)

From economics and politics to business, technology and culture, Kursiv Uzbekistan brings you key news and in-depth analysis from Uzbekistan and around the world. To stay up to date and get the latest stories in real time, follow our Telegram channel.