Hamilton rues his mistake on his flying lap, but still dreams of fighting for the podium
Having delivered impressive laps across the practice sessions, nine-time British Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton was left to rue the mistake he made on his final qualifying lap that resulted in a disappointing fifth place on the grid for today's Silverstone race.
Drizzle at the start of qualifying meant that three minutes into the session, Ferrari sent Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out on track for their first run.
The session was red flagged after seven minutes, when Franco Colapinto went off at the final corner. Ferrari were eager to only a single set in Q1 which put both drivers in danger and on the verge of getting knocked out in Q1.
In Q2, Hamilton and Leclerc went out on the same set of softs they used in the opening qualifying session, but their second run on a fresh set of red-walled tyres saw the Briton and the Monegasque end up first and second quickest respectively.
It looked like Ferrari had the pace to fight for pole position, but both Hamilton and Leclerc made a mistake in the very last corner of the Silverstone track which left them fifth and sixth on the grid for tomorrow's British Grand Prix.
"It was a very competitive qualifying session. Q2 was strong, but I wasn’t able to extract the improvement we were aiming for on the final lap of Q3, so ultimately we’ll start P5.
"I’m really proud of the way the team has worked all weekend, there were plenty of positive signs in practice. Tomorrow won’t be easy with the cars ahead, but there’s something special about Silverstone.
"The energy from the crowd here is incredible, and I’m looking forward to giving it everything out there. The lap was pretty decent at the end and then I lost a bit of time in the last corner, which probably would have put me on the front row or at least third.
“We were right on the knife edge I think, other than that squeezed everything I could out the car. I definitely feel a lot better in the car this weekend," concluded Hamilton.
