Mercedes found the answers it was searching for at Silverstone, while Ferrari chose a more measured approach with Sunday’s British Grand Prix firmly in mind. Andrea Kimi Antonelli stole the spotlight on Saturday by following up his Sprint victory with pole position for the main race, confirming the pre-weekend expectations that the Mercedes W17 would once again be the benchmark.
Ferrari, however, cemented its status as Mercedes’ closest challenger. The Scuderia appeared willing to sacrifice a small amount of outright qualifying performance in exchange for stronger race pace, while Charles Leclerc rediscovered his confidence in the SF-26 after a significant last-minute setup change. The result was a front-row start for the Monegasque, giving Ferrari an excellent opportunity to challenge Mercedes when the lights go out.
Mercedes finds the right balance
It took until the second day of the weekend, but Mercedes ultimately secured the pole position many expected before the British Grand Prix weekend began. The Brackley-based team needed extra time to perfect its energy management strategy after initially being caught out by Ferrari’s impressive efficiency in that area during Friday’s running.
Unlike Ferrari, Mercedes made no major setup changes after Antonelli’s Sprint victory. Instead, the engineers focused on fine-tuning differential settings and braking parameters, allowing the W17 to unlock the full potential of both its power unit and chassis package. At least on Antonelli’s side of the garage, everything came together perfectly.
The Italian continues to establish himself as the team’s reference point and, remarkably, has yet to experience a truly difficult race weekend this season.
The same cannot be said for George Russell, who qualified almost four tenths slower than his teammate. That gap cannot be explained solely by the mysterious issue affecting Russell’s straight-line speed, which Toto Wolff estimated to be worth only around five hundredths of a second.
On certain weekends Russell has managed to find the sweet spot of the Mercedes W17 and extract its full potential, but achieving that level of performance consistently has proven far more difficult. Even so, fourth place on the grid represents a respectable recovery after the Briton narrowly avoided getting stuck in the gravel during Q1 following an unusual lock-up at Luffield. Antonelli experienced a similar braking issue shortly afterwards at Turn 3.
Braking management appears to be Mercedes‘ only noticeable weakness at Silverstone. Aside from that, the Silver Arrows head into Sunday’s race as the clear favourites to secure yet another victory.
Ferrari shifts its focus to race pace
Ferrari had surprised the paddock on Friday thanks to outstanding energy deployment, the result of meticulous preparation before arriving at Silverstone. Although Mercedes managed to close that gap by Saturday, the two SF-26s still secured second and third on the grid—an outcome that exceeded most expectations heading into the weekend.
The high-speed corners of Silverstone continue to highlight the strengths of Ferrari’s aerodynamic package. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur also noted that a stable and well-balanced car naturally allows for more efficient energy deployment over a lap.
Even so, Ferrari improved its fastest qualifying lap by less than one tenth compared to Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, while Mercedes found more than two tenths. This limited improvement may have been entirely deliberate.
The Sprint race confirmed that overtaking is very much possible at Silverstone, something Fred Vasseur admitted influenced Ferrari’s priorities by placing greater emphasis on race pace rather than extracting every last fraction of a second over a single lap. During the Sprint, Ferrari’s tyre performance faded more quickly than Mercedes’, making it entirely plausible that, once parc fermé restrictions were lifted, the Scuderia adjusted the setup to better preserve its tyres over a full Grand Prix distance.
The most significant changes were made to Charles Leclerc’s car. Ferrari substantially revised his setup, returning to a philosophy much closer to the one he had previously preferred instead of the direction adopted by Lewis Hamilton. The gamble paid off immediately, with Charles Leclerc admitting that he had finally rediscovered the connection with the SF-26 that he had been missing since last season.
His front-row qualifying effort now gives Ferrari a genuine opportunity to apply pressure on Mercedes. Together with Lewis Hamilton, the Scuderia could also explore split strategies during the race, provided both Ferrari drivers remain close enough to Antonelli in the opening stages.
Racing Bulls shine once again
One of Saturday’s biggest surprises came from Isack Hadjar, who will start from fifth place on the grid. Unlike the situation seen in Austria, Red Bull does not appear capable of challenging Mercedes at Silverstone, perhaps due to a lack of aerodynamic load and an unsettled balance through the circuit’s high-speed corners.
Hadjar’s performance was particularly impressive because he achieved something very few drivers have managed this season—qualifying ahead of Max Verstappen, who never appeared fully comfortable with the RB22 throughout the session.
Splitting the two Red Bull drivers is another home favourite, Lando Norris. McLaren appears aware that, without further upgrades, it currently lacks the pace to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari over a single lap.
Further back, both Racing Bulls cars will line up together on the fifth row after another outstanding qualifying display. The Italian team reached Q3 in both Friday’s Sprint Qualifying and Saturday’s main qualifying session, confirming the progress made throughout the weekend.
The updated floor and diffuser introduced at Silverstone are already delivering encouraging results and could prove instrumental in Racing Bulls’ efforts to close the gap to Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship.
Everything will be decided on Sunday
Ultimately, however, the real verdict will come in the Grand Prix itself. Antonelli’s first objective will be to retain the lead through the opening lap, allowing him to enjoy the clean air at the front while avoiding the intense midfield battles that characterised the Sprint race.
Those caught in traffic will need to carefully manage tyre degradation and avoid pushing too hard too early, as excessive tyre wear could compromise the remainder of the race.
Mercedes and Andrea Kimi Antonelli naturally start as the favourites, but with Ferrari lining up directly behind and appearing to have prioritised long-run performance, nothing about Sunday’s British Grand Prix can be considered certain.
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