British Grand Prix Starting Grid

British Grand Prix Starting Grid

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Sunday 8 July 2018 11:00

Lewis Hamilton's bid for a record-breaking British Grand Prix victory were boosted after he set a new benchmark for pole positions with a sixth Saturday success at Silverstone - more than any other driver. Sebastian Vettel joins Hamilton on the front row, with Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas in close quarters.

Hamilton put car 44 on pole with a lap just 0.044 seconds quicker than Vettel in a thrilling qualifying session.

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Alain Prost and Jim Clark have five British GP wins, as does Hamilton, having won at Silverstone in each of the past four years.

The Scuderia have shown strong pace all weekend, however, and Ferrari cars make up half of the top 10 thanks to impressive performances from the Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Charles Leclerc.

Some of Silverstone's most famous corners have been turned into flat-out areas by F1's new high-downforce machines, leaving Red Bull lacking in the fight at the front and the Renault cars also struggling - Carlos Sainz Jr will start 16th, having failed to reach Q3 for the first time in 2018.

There is a slight change at the back of the grid - Williams will start both Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin from the pit lane after both spun in qualifying.

A new rear wing is causing havoc for both drivers, prompting the beleaguered British team to break Parc Ferme rules and make alterations with a view to a more stable race.

Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley will also start in the pit-lane after his FP3 wreck.