Lewis Hamilton is the fastest man in qualifying at Silverstone, in front of his home crowd. The seven-time world champion was able to stay in front of rival Max Verstappen by just 0.075s. 

Anyway, Sir Lewis is still stuck with 100 pole positions, as tomorrow's Sprint Race will determine the pole sitter. 

Mercedes and Red Bull played two different strategies in Fp1, as the Brackley team went for a long run simulation: Verstappen was 7 hundreds faster, and he was again Q1, but something went wrong for the Dutchman since Q2. The Red Bull number 33 suffered of understeer, leaving Hamilton the space to put himself in front. 

Mercedes updates also helped: Toto Wolff's team brought a new floor and new bargeboards solution in Silverstone, where the German outfit conquered pole position every year since 2013. 

"I am so grateful to see everyone here: to come to the Silverstone Grand Prix and have a full crowd and see the energy is amazing. When I was coming into this weekend, I was hopeful that with the great work we have done together in the team, plus the energy of the fans, it would get us there," said the seven-time world champion. 

"Red Bull were very quick in the practice session but we were just staying focused on our job and trying to layer up - I was in the sim this morning as a practice session because it’s the first time ever we have had a morning free. I was just putting in the time, trying to give absolutely everything and leave no stone unturned.

"We’ve been working so hard, putting so much effort and time in - at the track, on the sim, in the factory - just trying to stay centred and squeeze every last thing out of this car. It’s been such a difficult time for everyone and we finally got all the fans here at the British Grand Prix, and the desire to want to deliver for everyone is beyond belief." 

The Lewis effect! 🙌#BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/E4LsuwwA5f

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 16, 2021

Good performance from Valtteri Bottas as well: the Finn is third at the end of Q3, meaning he will start the first Sprint Race Qualifying in F1 history from the second row on the grid. He only has seventeen laps to overtake Verstappen and hopes to start in front on Sunday. 

"I think the last lap was really good, I was the first one out in free air with no tow so if I consider that, it was a good lap. As a team we are at the front in the fight which is great to see – Red Bull looked strong in Practice and it was a bit worrying but it’s all to play for," said the Finn. 

"Today was only Qualifying, we have the Sprint Race tomorrow with lots of opportunities and I’m looking forward to it – as a team we’ll try to get the best result. It was great to feel the energy and the atmosphere of the crowd today, it’s really cool to see the fans here".