Hamilton on pole for British GP

Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling battle for pole position at the British Grand Prix, snatching top spot from title rival Sebastian Vettel on his last lap.

The Mercedes driver trailed Vettel by 0.057 seconds after the first top-10 shootout runs at sunny Silverstone but saved his best for last.

Hamilton improved by 0.1secs on his final lap, showing massive commitment through the super-fast corners.

And with Vettel failing to improve, the world champion took pole by 0.044secs.

The crowd chanted Hamilton’s name as he did his interview immediately after qualifying, and he sounded overcome with emotion as he recalled his record sixth pole position at the British Grand Prix.

“I gave it everything I could,” he said. “It was so close. The Ferraris pulled something out and I was just praying I could do it for you guys.”

Vettel, struggling with a pain in his neck, said: “I was down a bit on the straights. It was so close. Happy with second, it gives us chances in the race.”

He added that his neck had been “fine” in qualifying and he was “not worried” about the race, because “you go a bit slower than in qualifying”.

Vettel came close to being beaten by his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who set the fastest first sector on his final lap but ended up just 0.054secs off the lead Ferrari.

Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas took third, 0.325secs off the pace, ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. (BBC Sport)