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Live+1 todayUpdated 5m ago

Mercedes Drivers Antonelli and Russell Qualify P2 and P5 for British Grand Prix Sprint

Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed pole by 0.011s, with George Russell fifth, as Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton topped Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone.

Antonelli's gap to pole

0.011 seconds

Russell's grid position

P5

What Happened

In Friday's action at the 2026 British Grand Prix, Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell finished second and fifth respectively in Sprint Qualifying. Antonelli missed pole by just 0.011 seconds, while Russell struggled with pace. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position, with Max Verstappen third and Charles Leclerc fourth.

Sprint Qualifying was incredibly close and it's frustrating to miss out on pole by such a small margin. I didn't feel completely comfortable in the car during SQ1, but then SQ2 felt like night and day difference. The balance came to me much more and I was able to get back into the rhythm and show the pace we had. My lap in SQ3 was a solid but Lewis did a great job, so congratulations to him. We ca
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes Driver
We've often managed to find a step when it comes to the final part of qualifying, but unfortunately that wasn't the case today. We weren’t too far off P3, but we were still lacking a bit of pace compared to Kimi (Antonelli) and Lewis (Hamilton), so we need to understand where we can improve. The car didn't feel too bad and the balance was reasonably good but ultimately the lap time just wasn't the
George Russell, Mercedes Driver
Today has been frustrating on our side. We've had a good run of landing the start set-up in a decent place in recent races, but it has felt like we've been on the back foot today. Over the course of the sessions, we've been making changes to put more stability into the car but even by the SQ3 of Sprint Qualifying, it still felt that the front was still too strong, which is not what you need when i
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Why this matters

For a beginner, this shows the close competition in Formula 1, where small margins decide grid positions and set up an exciting sprint race.

Terms in This Story

Sprint Qualifying
A short qualifying session that sets the grid for a sprint race, held on the Friday of a Grand Prix weekend.
SQ3
The final segment of Sprint Qualifying, where the top 10 drivers compete for the fastest lap.
Soft tyre
The softest compound of dry-weather tyres, offering the most grip but wearing fastest.
Read Original: Mercedes-Benz

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