Antonelli Claims Fifth Pole of 2026 at British Grand Prix Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli has answered the question before qualifying even started: can he extend his dominance into Sunday’s race at Silverstone? The Italian secured pole position for the 2026 British Grand Prix, his fifth of the season.

His qualifying time of 1m 28.111s proved decisive. Charles Leclerc finished second, just 0.175s adrift, while Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top three at his home event. George Russell qualified fourth.

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen occupied fifth and seventh, with Lando Norris sandwiched between them in sixth. Oscar Piastri’s McLaren completed the top eight.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson claimed ninth and tenth. The team later drew scrutiny for an unsafe release in the pits during Q3 involving Lindblad and Oscar Piastri, costing them €5,000. Gabriel Bortoleto just missed Q3, finishing 11th after falling short by 0.032s.

The session had its share of drama. George Russell went off track at Luffield during Q1, and Franco Colapinto ran wide at Becketts in the same phase. Pierre Gasly picked up a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lance Stroll in Q1. Esteban Ocon faced investigation post-session for allegedly failing to slow for single yellow flags, but stewards took no further action.

“I was a bit stressed because I never really like going first for the last run. But yeah, the last lap was very tidy, I have to be honest. It all came together. It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty and unpredictable. But yeah, we built our way through Qualifying, and to bring home pole is very satisfying.”

— Kimi Antonelli

The race gets underway at 1500 local time on Sunday.