Lewis Hamilton reflects on unexpected British GP Sprint pole: “We didn’t expect this”. Lewis Hamilton thrills Silverstone crowd with surprise Ferrari Sprint pole.

Lewis Hamilton stuns Mercedes with surprise Sprint pole at Silverstone

Ferrari will start from pole position for the Sprint race at Silverstone. While Sprint pole may not carry the same prestige as Saturday’s main qualifying result, it is still clear evidence that the British Grand Prix weekend has already turned pre-event predictions on their head.

Most expected Ferrari to spend the weekend on the defensive, fighting as only the third or fourth-fastest team. Instead, Lewis Hamilton produced another outstanding performance at his home circuit, denying Mercedes and sending the British fans into celebration by edging championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli by just a few thousandths of a second in SQ3.

The result even caught the seven-time Formula 1 world champion by surprise, as he admitted during the traditional post-Sprint Qualifying interview with Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton: “We didn’t expect to be fighting for the front row”

“I love this place and I love this crowd,” Hamilton said, prompting another huge roar from the packed Silverstone grandstands. “It’s hard to put into words how incredible this dream feels. The car was fantastic today, everyone back at the factory is pushing incredibly hard, and every weekend we’re bringing something new.”

“I’m so grateful for this pole position. I’ve been quick in every session, but I’m only ahead by one hundredth of a second, so we’re all extremely close. The team really deserves this result. Do I get energy from the crowd? Yes, it’s worth at least a couple of tenths!” he joked.

“We’re ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull, who have so much power and have been performing brilliantly all season. But we just keep pushing, and I’m really proud of that.”

Lewis Hamilton also admitted that Ferrari had not expected to be in contention for the front row before arriving at Silverstone: “It won’t always be like this, but coming here we didn’t expect to be fighting for the front row,” he added. “Absolutely not. I’m ecstatic. It’s a fantastic surprise.”

Looking ahead to the Sprint race, the British driver remained optimistic about Ferrari’s pace while acknowledging the challenge posed by the rivals behind: “Our race pace looked good. We completed a short long run and the car felt really encouraging. I can’t remember the last time I started from the front row here, but it won’t be easy when you’ve got rivals behind you who are so strong and have more power than we do.”