Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, centre, poses with second placed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco, left, and third placed Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain after clocked the fastest time during the qualifying session. Alamy Stock Photo

Antonelli takes pole position for F1 British Grand Prix

The 19-year-old Italian secured his fifth pole from nine races this season.

Updated at 18.02

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER KIMI Antonelli of Mercedes will start Sunday’s British Grand Prix from pole position after again dominating qualifying on Saturday.

The 19-year-old Italian, who won the sprint earlier in the day, secured his fifth pole from nine races this season by outpacing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who will start alongside him on the front row.

His quickest lap of 1 minute 28.111 seconds was 0.175sec faster than Leclerc.

The other Ferrari, driven by home favourite Lewis Hamilton, locked out third and will start alongside his old Mercedes teammate George Russell, who won the last race in Austria and is 43 points behind Antonelli.

Red Bull’s junior driver Isack Hadjar was fifth, outperforming his senior partner Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion had to settle for seventh, one place behind the 2025 champion Lando Norris in his McLaren.

Oscar Piastri, in the second McLaren, was eighth, with the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson closing out the top 10.

Elsewhere, in today’s Formula Two sprint race at Silverstone, Ireland’s Alex Dunne failed to pick up any points after finishing in ninth position.

Nikola Tsolov overtook Championship rival Gabriele Minì on the final lap to claim his fifth victory this season.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez completed the top three.

Tsolov and Minì are now tied at the top of the Championship Standings on 116 points. 

Rafael Câmara (82 points) is third just ahead of Dunne (80 points), while Noel León (67 points) is fifth.

– © AFP 2026

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