I love this place – Lewis Hamilton ‘ecstatic’ with sprint pole at Silverstone

An “ecstatic” Lewis Hamilton said he is in love with Silverstone after he ramped up his world championship bid with a brilliant pole position for Saturday’s sprint race at the British Grand Prix.

The 41-year-old Ferrari driver rose brilliantly to the occasion in front of his adoring home crowd in qualifying to see off Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011 seconds and take the prime spot for the 17-lap dash to the chequered flag.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will line up third, one place ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc. George Russell finished a disappointing fifth.

Hamilton insists he is not thinking about winning a record eighth crown, but his performance here will do little to dampen a growing feeling that he is now a genuine title contender.

The pressure was on Hamilton after championship leader Antonelli laid down a marker. But the Englishman, as he has done so often before at the British Grand Prix – where his nine victories are a record for any driver at a single race – pulled out a magic lap with one sling at glory.

Hamilton punched the air before standing on top of his Ferrari and performing a two-fingered victory salute beneath the scorching Silverstone sun.

“Holy c**p,” said Hamilton. “Wow. Okay. I like it. I love this place. I love this place and I love this crowd,” he continued.

“I can’t express to you how big a dream it is – and still to this day, when you are building up to this race, and when you think about every corner, and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right. And if you have got the right team behind you. The car has felt great today.

“We brought tiny little bits here, and we are showing up every single weekend with something, and everyone has pushed to the