Home hero Hamilton is back with a sprint pole: “I’m so, so happy”

Written by Bo Helmus

Hamilton snatches Sprint pole from Antonelli | Credit: Formula One

Lewis Hamilton always has something extra when he drives his home race. He has a record-breaking nine wins around this track, and it looks like he might add number 10 later this weekend. His Ferrari was flying all Friday, and to showcase his brilliant talent, he secured Sprint pole. 

All day long, Hamilton was able to get things out of his car that the others just couldn’t. In the end, only Kimi Antonelli was able to get close to him. Only one hundredth of a second separates the first and second place. Max Verstappen came in third, three tenths behind. 

Hamilton couldn’t believe his Ferrari was able to fight for pole | Credit: Formula One

Difficult track

Many drivers expected this year's cars to be much slower around Silverstone than previous years, as there aren’t that many opportunities to recharge your systems. But luckily, that didn’t seem to be a problem at all. Especially for the Scuderia, who seemed to have extra power in the third sector. 

“I am so happy, so, so happy,” Hamilton starts his interview. “Honestly, because, you know, if you even heard me in the press conference, you’re like, oh, the track’s not gonna be the same. Because that’s what we all thought. And the track’s still phenomenal. The track still feels great. The engine drop off is not anywhere near what we anticipated.” 

The new cars held up nicely in Silverstone, unlike what everyone expected | Credit: Formula One

Ups and downs

The last few races have been up and down for the Italian team. In Barcelona, they were on top of their game, but in Austria, they were lacking serious pace on Sunday. That got Hamilton a bit nervous for this upcoming weekend. 

He said: “Yesterday they were really scaring me. They were like, we’re going to be six tenths off in a straight line to these guys. And you know, in the last race we were four tenths off in a straight line, but then today all of a sudden we’re kind of there. And I was like, is this real? Are they going to turn up in quali? And we were right there competing with them.” 

Hamilton takes a moment to thank his fans in the grandstands | Credit: Formula One

Team effort

The team has done an amazing job, and Hamilton realises that all too well. He takes the time to thank them: “So, it just goes back to, you know, I always want to bring it back to everyone back at the factory, because I can’t say it enough. They’re just, they’re pushing. Like last year, we were kind of stuck in the rut. We had a lot we could do. Now, they’re finding things, they’re adding things to the car. And this weekend, every single weekend, we’re bringing small little bits and adding performance to this car.”

He finishes by saying: “It felt awesome. Such an awesome track. It’s the best track to drive.”