British Grand Prix Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton pole, Sebastian Vettel third, Bottas ninth
LEWIS HAMILTON beat Sebastian Vettel to pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix in qualifying today.
Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the British Grand Prix
Hamilton secured a third successive pole at Silverstone and fourth in five years on his home track.
His time of 1.26.600 was enough for the three-time world champion to cruise to the top of the grid.
It was a far better display than last weekend when he qualified third in Austria, only to be knocked down to eighth after a gearbox change.
"This is definitely the best position to start from," Hamilton, 32, said.
"I need to make sure I do it for these guys," he added pointing to the crowd on the pit straight.
Drivers’ Championship leader Vettel was forced to make do with third place.
Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen edged the German for second.
Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth - a week after he won the Austrian Grand Prix - but a gearbox change means he was fit with a five-place grid penalty and starts tomorrow’s race ninth.
More to follow…
Sebastian Vettel currently leads the Drivers' Championship
Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth but will start ninth on Sunday
British Grand Prix Qualifying Results:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 26.600secs
2 Kimi Raikkonen(Fin) Ferrari 1:27.147
3 Sebastian Vettel(Ger)Ferrari 1:27.356
4 Valtteri Bottas(Fin)Mercedes GP 1:27.376*
5 Max Verstappen(Ned)Red Bull 1:28.130
6 Nico Hulkenberg(Ger)Renault 1:28.856
7 Sergio Perez(Mex)Force India 1:28.902
8 Esteban Ocon(Fra)Force India 1:29.074
9 Stoffel Vandoorne(Bel)McLaren 1:29.418
10 Romain Grosjean (Fra)Haas F1 1:29.549
11 Jolyon Palmer(Gbr)Renault 1:30.193
12 Daniil Kvyat(Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:30.355
13 Fernando Alonso(Spa) McLaren 1:30.600
14 Carlos Sainz(Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:31.368
15 Felipe Massa(Bra) Williams 1:31.482
16 Lance Stroll(Can) Williams 1:42.573
17 Kevin Magnussen(Den) Haas F1 1:42.577
18 Pascal Wehrlein(Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:42.593
19 Marcus Ericsson(Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:42.633
20 Daniel Ricciardo(Aus) Red Bull 1:42.966*
*Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo have five place grid penalties for unscheduled gearbox changes and Fernando Alonso has a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding power unit limits.