Mercedes
Antonelli made a great start from P2 for the Sprint, challenging Hamilton from the off. In the end he slotted behind the Ferrari man, biding his time to make a move for the lead. Once he swept past Hamilton, Antonelli could not be caught and cantered away for a maiden Sprint win. As for Russell, his position see-sawed as he climbed to third at one point, before being passed by Norris and Verstappen. He did eventually overtake the Dutchman after a few close battles to limit the championship gains of his team mate.
But Russell will have to get his elbows out again in the race if he doesn’t want his team mate to extend that lead yet further, as he starts fourth – with both Ferraris between himself and Antonelli. The Briton had a hairy moment in Q1 when he tapped the barriers in a strange off, capping a difficult day. Antonelli grabbed pole by nearly two tenths of a second from Leclerc as he continued his strong weekend.
Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 1st, 1:28.111
“The car has felt good all day, and we’ve managed to put everything together, both in the Sprint and then in Qualifying. I was struggling for momentum at the start of the Sprint but once I caught up to Lewis (Hamilton) and got within overtake mode, I was confident I could get the pass done. Once I was in free air, I had the pace to build a gap and bring home the car for the win.
“We knew, just as it was yesterday, that Qualifying would be a big fight with the Ferraris. That is exactly how it turned out; I had a lock-up in Q2 which cost me some confidence, but we changed some settings and got back on track. My final effort was a very tidy lap and proved good enough for pole position.
“We’ve had a positive weekend so far but tomorrow will be a long race. We will need to make a good start and work hard to keep the Ferraris at bay. They’ve shown great pace here at Silverstone and we will need to be at our best if we want to beat them.”
George Russell, Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: 4th, 1:28.481
“Today hasn’t been straightforward on my side. The balance of the car has been reasonably strong and I’ve felt comfortable, but we’ve been struggling with our straight-line speed. In the Sprint therefore, we ended up in a battle with the McLarens, the Red Bull of Verstappen and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. We were able to fight our way to P4, but our pace was probably strong enough to have been in the top three and chasing Lewis (Hamilton) and Kimi (Antonelli).
“I had a small off in Q1 in Qualifying, but we recovered and were in the fight for pole. On my final run though I caught some traffic on my out lap and didn’t quite get the tyres in the right window. That meant that my push lap was compromised from the start and we had to settle for P4. That was frustrating but we know that we can move forward tomorrow. We will be doing everything we can to do so and get in the mix at the very front.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“It has been a real battle with Ferrari so far this weekend. They have been quick from the first session, and we’ve had to work hard to take the fight to them. In the Sprint, we saw lots of yo-yoing as drivers used different deployment strategies to try and gain position. Kimi was able to get ahead of Lewis (Hamilton) and then break the overtake mode to take the win. For George, he ended up in a fight with multiple cars. He did well to get P4 and showed good pace.
“In Qualifying, both drivers were quick and Kimi managed to hook his lap up at the end of Q3 to take pole. For George, he was in the mix but traffic ahead of his final effort cost him the optimal lap. P4 is still an OK position to start from, and we know he will still be in the fight for victory tomorrow. It will be a long race and there will likely be plenty of opportunities.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“We struggled with the car yesterday and to that extent, our pace in the Sprint was a pleasant surprise. Lewis (Hamilton) was fast, but Kimi did a good job to stay close and eventually make a pass stick for the win. George had a bit more going on; he was in a tight race with the two McLarens and Verstappen and Leclerc. He did well to get ahead of several of those and just didn’t quite have the time to catch and pass Norris at the end.
“Given that the car had decent long run pace we didn’t change much going into Qualifying. The conditions were very tricky for both drivers with the wind. George had an off in Q1 when he locked a front brake and ran through the gravel, having a brush with wall. He managed to dig the car out and get back to the garage to continue the session.
“After the first run of Q3, we were sat in P1 and P2. Kimi was able put together a fine lap to take pole. Unfortunately, George didn’t improve; he felt his tyres needed a slightly faster out lap and ended up losing a bit of time sliding around in the first sector. That was disappointing for him but starting P4, there will still be opportunities for him tomorrow given the pace he showed in the Sprint.”
.webp?ssl=1 "Do Ferrari really have the pace to fight for victory over the British Grand Prix weekend?")
