Lewis Hamilton followed up a sprint pole and sprint race P2 with P3 on the grid after 2026 F1 British GP qualifying. Talking after the session, the Barcelona-Catalunya GP winner said that he and Ferrari have extracted as much pace as they can this weekend, but for qualifying things just didn’t line up.
Hamilton: “I just struggled more in this qualifying session” for British GP
“Run 2 was pretty decent, but I had a massive—I lost my deployment. There was a problem with the deployment, basically, and I lost like three tenths down the back straight. But that got fixed towards the end. I just struggled more in this qualifying session with the car, a lot more understeer.”
A tailwind going into Village corner created issues throughout the session, which polesitter Kimi Antonelli also alluded to in his remarks. “And then the braking, for example, for Turn 3, Kimi was talking about it, but that was quite inconsistent for me today with the settings that we ended up choosing.”
“We’ll do our best” against Antonelli
Hamilton acknowledges, especially after being overtaken for the sprint race win, that he will have his work cut out to top points leader Antonelli.
“I mean, we couldn’t [beat Kimi] this morning, so I don’t think that really changes. And he’s just gone quicker than, way quicker than how he went yesterday. So nothing’s changed between this morning and nothing will change between today and tomorrow. We’ll do our best to hold on to them, but ultimately, if he gets a clean run, he’ll be gone.”
Hamilton: Silverstone has “the best energy that you see anywhere”
Hamilton did give a positive assessment of the new car on a circuit that he has won at nine times to date. He looks forward to another great race and crowd at his home track.
“I think we’ve all been surprised. It’s really a lot better than we anticipated it. And it’s still really great fun to drive this track. For me, it’s my favourite circuit. I think it’s just incredible with the wind, the whole setup. I think Silverstone has done an exceptional job in building up this place over the years and creating the home for the crowd, the British crowd. It’s just every morning when you make your way here, you see people here so enthusiastic. It’s the best energy that you see anywhere. And it’s not just supporting one driver, it’s covering the whole grid. So that’s great to see.“
