Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton expressed regret over mistakes they made during qualifying at Silverstone on Saturday, which likely cost them a chance at securing pole position for their home Grand Prix. They came remarkably close to topping the timesheets.
The home crowd passionately supported McLaren`s Lando Norris and Mercedes` Lewis Hamilton during a tense five-way fight for pole, which was ultimately claimed by Red Bull`s Max Verstappen.
Norris finished qualifying in third place, narrowly beaten by his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who took second.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 with a wry smile, Norris admitted he was disappointed not to have secured pole.
“We simply weren`t fast enough as a team,” he stated. “Would a perfect lap have been enough for pole? Possibly. But it`s also likely Max had more potential in his lap.”
Norris had arrived at Silverstone with momentum from his win in Austria, but this result extended his qualifying head-to-head record against Piastri to 7-5 in the Australian`s favour for the season.
Norris commented on the tight competition, saying, “It came down to small margins, minor errors. Just a few hundredths of a second difference could win or lose you pole today.”
He elaborated on his final attempt: “On my last lap, I was hoping to extract a bit more. I struggled to get the car hooked up properly and find the right balance in a couple of corners.”
Hamilton Reflects on Near Miss for Front Row
Lewis Hamilton`s presence in the fight for pole was somewhat unexpected, especially given Ferrari`s seemingly stronger pace in practice earlier in the weekend.
Mercedes` pace seemed variable, with Hamilton almost being eliminated in Q1. However, they managed to find crucial performance towards the end of Q2 to rejoin the battle at the front.
After the initial Q3 runs, Hamilton was P2 behind Piastri. On his final qualifying lap, he was running a tenth quicker than Piastri`s benchmark time as he entered the last sector.
Unfortunately, a mistake at Turn 16 cost him dearly, dropping him to fifth place on the grid in a session where the top six cars were separated by just over two tenths of a second.
Hamilton told Sky Sports F1, “I believe I was on track for second place right until the very last corner.”
“But I experienced some understeer at Turn 16, which resulted in losing just over a tenth of a second,” he explained.
Despite the frustration of not securing a higher grid position, Hamilton expressed satisfaction at being competitive and involved in the fight at the sharp end.
“Overall, it`s been a decent weekend for us so far,” he commented.
“I`m certainly feeling more comfortable with the car`s setup and balance now.”
Russell “Very Happy” After Strong Final Lap Surge
Ultimately, the most satisfied British driver was George Russell. After a challenging qualifying session up to that point, he delivered a spectacular final lap improvement to snatch fourth place ahead of his team-mate Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver ended up only 0.137 seconds behind Verstappen`s pole time, a significant recovery considering he was six tenths adrift after his initial Q3 attempt.
This performance continued Russell`s strong qualifying record, having started within the top five in all but one of the twelve races this season (Monaco being the exception due to a technical issue).
He told Sky Sports F1, “I`m extremely happy because we`ve struggled for pace throughout the weekend.”
“Given how strong the Ferraris looked and knowing the McLarens would be competitive, I wasn`t really expecting to be in the mix for a high grid position.”
“But on the final lap, the car really came alive, and it felt incredibly strong. It turned out to be a great result.”
Gilbert Pendleton