British GP : Post-Qualifying reaction from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes took the challenge posed by Red bull in the last five races. In their home race, in-front of sold out crowd Lewis Hamilton took P1 for first ever Formula 1 Sprint qualifying.

Lewis was on much faster lap in the final minutes of Q3 before having a moment in the final sector which ruined his lap. So Hamilton wins first ever Pirelli Speed King award after posting fastest time in the Q3.

Valtteri Bottas took P3, just two tenths behind his teammate. The Fin set his time in clean air on the final run without any tow from front.

Both Mercedes drivers are happy with the car performance and looking forward to take fight on in-form Max Verstappen and Red Bull in tomorrow’s Sprint Qualifying race.

Lewis Hamilton (P1)

“I am so grateful to see everyone here – to come to the Silverstone Grand Prix and have a full crowd and see the energy is amazing. When I was coming into this weekend, I was hopeful that with the great work we have done together in the team, plus the energy of the fans, it would get us there.

Red Bull were very quick in the practice session but we were just staying focused on our job and trying to layer up – I was in the sim this morning as a practice session because it’s the first time ever we have had a morning free. I was just putting in the time, trying to give absolutely everything and leave no stone unturned.

We’ve been working so hard, putting so much effort and time in – at the track, on the sim, in the factory – just trying to stay centred and squeeze every last thing out of this car. It’s been such a difficult time for everyone and we finally got all the fans here at the British Grand Prix, and the desire to want to deliver for everyone is beyond belief.”

Valtteri Bottas (P3)

“I think the last lap was really good, I was the first one out in free air with no tow so if I consider that, it was a good lap. As a team we are at the front in the fight which is great to see – Red Bull looked strong in Practice and it was a bit worrying but it’s all to play for.

Today was only Qualifying, we have the Sprint Race tomorrow with lots of opportunities and I’m looking forward to it – as a team we’ll try to get the best result. It was great to feel the energy and the atmosphere of the crowd today, it’s really cool to see the fans here.”

Andrew Shovlin, Head of track side operations

“Well done to Lewis on another pole position; they haven’t been easy to come by this year but it was a solid job throughout and a relief that his first lap in the final session was enough to secure the top spot.

Our morning was focused on learning; there’s simply too much work to fit into one hour but we managed to do a decent mix of long run and single lap work. Our single lap pace was uninspiring in Practice but we managed to find a direction to improve grip and balance going into Qualifying which showed in the timesheets.

Valtteri’s final run was a good lap but compromised by being first car out; we’ll review our timing on that as we could have potentially secured the front row had we found him a car in front. Overall, the pace was strong from both cars and that’s reassuring given that we’ve had a tough time in recent qualifying sessions.”