British drivers Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton admitted they were left disappointed by errors that cost them a potential home pole position at Silverstone on Saturday. Both were agonizingly close to topping the qualifying session.
McLaren`s Norris and Ferrari`s Hamilton felt strong support from the home crowd during a thrilling five-way battle for the top spot, which was ultimately claimed by Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Norris finished third, just behind his teammate Oscar Piastri. Speaking after qualifying, Norris managed a defiant smile and told reporters:
“I am gutted not to be on pole. We just weren`t quick enough as a team. Would a perfect lap have put us on pole? Yes. But was there probably more in Max`s lap? Yes.”
Norris came to Silverstone with momentum after his win in Austria, which reduced Piastri`s championship lead. However, the qualifying result extended his deficit against his teammate in their head-to-head qualifying record this season to 5-7.
Norris added:
“Little margins, little mistakes. A couple of hundredths here and there can win or lose you the game today. My final lap, I would have hoped to find just that little bit more. Just didn`t quite get the grip out of it in some corners, and the right balance.”
Hamilton Laments Error on Final Lap
Lewis Hamilton`s contention for pole position was somewhat unexpected, given Ferrari`s struggles earlier in the weekend. Their pace seemed to vanish briefly when Hamilton nearly dropped out in Q1, but they found speed again towards the end of Q2 to rejoin the fight at the front.
Hamilton was second behind Piastri after the initial Q3 runs and was a tenth quicker than the Australian`s leading time entering the final sector of his last attempt.
However, a mistake at Turn 16 proved costly, leading to a significant loss of time. This dropped him to fifth place on the grid, although the top six were separated by less than a quarter of a second.
Hamilton told reporters:
“Right up until the last corner I think I was close to second on the grid. But I had a bit of understeer at (Turn) 16 and ended up losing a tenth-and-a-bit.”
Despite the disappointment of not starting higher up, Hamilton was satisfied to be in the mix for the leading positions.
“It`s generally been a decent weekend so far,” he commented. “I`m definitely feeling more comfortable with the set-up of the car and the balance of the car.”
Russell Pleased with Late Qualifying Improvement
The most content of the British drivers was ultimately George Russell. After a difficult qualifying session, the Mercedes driver made a spectacular leap on his final run to qualify fourth, ahead of Hamilton.
Russell finished only 0.137 seconds behind pole-sitter Verstappen, a strong recovery after being six tenths off the pace following his first Q3 attempt.
The result maintained Russell`s impressive qualifying record this season, where he has started in the top five in all but one of the 12 races so far (the exception being Monaco, where he suffered a technical issue).
He told reporters:
“I`m very happy because we`ve been off the pace this whole weekend. I was not expecting to be in the fight for a good position, especially with how strong the Ferraris looked. And we always know the McLarens will be there. On the last lap we really came alive, and it was mega strong. It was a good result.”
