2024 British Grand Prix - Saturday

Front-row lockout for the team at Silverstone

• George Russell claimed pole position with Lewis Hamilton making it a front-row lockout in P2 for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
• Overnight thunderstorms and morning rain left the circuit wet for FP3. In the cooler, damp conditions, both drivers were happier with the overall balance and ended the session top of the timing screens.
• That form continued into Qualifying; a wet to dry Q1 saw both driver’s progress before they also manoeuvred through Q2 to the final Q3 shootout.
• Using two new sets of the Soft compound tyre in the 12 minute session, both Lewis and George looked like they would be in the fight for pole.
• That proved to be the case with George on provisional pole and Lewis P3 after their first runs.
• Their second efforts netted improvements and a front-row lockout at both driver’s home race, George 0.171s ahead of his team-mate.
• With the McLaren of Lando Norris in third, it was a top-three lock out for Mercedes-Benz Power and a crowd-pleasing result with three Brits heading the grid.
• Tomorrow will be the first time the team has started first and second on the grid for a Grand Prix since São Paulo in 2022.
• Today’s result also marks the first British 1-2 at the British Grand Prix since 1977 where James Hunt and John Watson locked out the front-row.
  
  

George Russell

What a feeling! At the start of this year, we couldn’t have even dreamt of being on pole position at Silverstone. Having three Brits in the top-three is absolutely mega too. The crowd has been incredible, and they give us all so much energy. Having myself, Lewis, and Lando (Norris) at the front of the grid just shows that!

The car at the moment feels so good. It came alive in Qualifying, and it was an absolute joy to drive around this amazing circuit. We are riding a wave at the moment, but our eyes are on tomorrow. We’ve got a race to win, and we know that the McLaren of Lando will be pushing us incredibly hard. Max (Verstappen) will also be in the fight, but I am so excited right now. We can’t wait for the race tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton

Having three Brits at the front of the grid for the British Grand Prix is incredible. A huge congratulations to George, he did such a great job to take pole position. We didn’t expect to be on the front-row this weekend. This result is therefore huge for us as a team. The car felt fantastic out there and everyone at Brackley and Brixworth deserves this.

It was all about getting the tyre temperatures in the right place today and then sealing the deal with a good lap. I think there was a little time left on the table which George managed to extract. I feel confident in the car for tomorrow’s race. With both myself and George on the front-row, we have an advantage in trying to keep Lando (Norris) behind. Let’s see what we can do.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

That was a very good Saturday for the team. That is a front three for Mercedes-Benz power and three Brits at the front, which is special for the Silverstone crowd. That said, today doesn’t count for much. We need to do the job tomorrow and the McLaren of Lando Norris has looked incredibly quick. Keeping him behind will be a tough ask. The race tomorrow may be dictated by tyre degradation so we will have to be at our very best if we want to fight for victory.

We’ve been on a rollercoaster in recent months, and it has been difficult at times. Coming here to one of the temples of motorsport and locking out the front-row is a great reward for everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. So much work has been done in all areas to help get us into this position. We are not stopping here though. We have more developments to come, and everyone is continuing to push incredibly hard.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

That was a great qualifying session for the team and drivers. It's been a while since we've had both cars on the front row, and this is a testament to the hard work and determination from everyone in the team.

In FP3, it felt like we had good pace in the wet. That running was useful as there's still a chance that we'll see more rain tomorrow. We felt we were missing a bit of speed on the Soft tyre yesterday, but the overnight setup work seems to have nudged us in the right direction. The cooler conditions may also have suited our car. Turning a front row in Qualifying into a one-two for tomorrow is our objective. We're under no illusion that with Lando (Norris) and Max (Verstappen) behind us, that will be a difficult task. We've enjoyed great support from the Silverstone crowd so far this weekend and we'll do everything we can to give them something to celebrate tomorrow.