Hamilton tops Bottas for home pole after qualifying spin
Lewis Hamilton continued his fine Formula One form by beating Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to pole position on home soil at the British Grand Prix.
Having overcome a spin in Q2, Hamilton produced two impressive laps in Q3 and a track-record time of 1:24.303 put him 0.313 seconds clear of Bottas at Silverstone.
The Finn had been fastest in FP3 and the first two sessions of qualifying but had no answer when it mattered.
Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull with Charles Leclerc taking fourth for Ferrari, with both those cars over a second behind Hamilton, who came into the event on the back of two straight wins.
Lando Norris caught the eye again to take fifth for McLaren, with Racing Point's Lance Stroll separating him from team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Renault duo Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon took eighth and ninth, the latter promoted above Sebastian Vettel, whose second lap time was deleted due to exceeding track limits.
HAMILTON: “Valtteri was pushing me right to the end. It was a real struggle out there.
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2020
"We had that spin. I was struggling through the first section. I managed to compose myself. The first Q3 lap was clean and the second was even better"#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UHT9sFAmEN
As well as being a poor day for Vettel, there was more frustration for Alex Albon as he failed to reach the final shoot-out and finished 12th.
That was one place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who is standing in for Sergio Perez at Racing Point after the Mexican's positive coronavirus test.
Along with Albon and Hulkenberg missing out, there was further drama in Q2 as Hamilton spun at Luffield, spraying gravel onto the track which led to a red flag.
Fortunately for the championship leader, he was able to continue with the damage to his car not significant.
He later looked relieved after taking what ultimately proved to be a comfortable seventh British Grand Prix pole, improving on a record he already holds.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:24.303
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.313s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.022s
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.124s
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.479s
6. Lance Stroll (Racing Point) +1.536s
7. Carlos Sainz (McLaren) +1.662s
8. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) +1.706s
9. Esteban Ocon (Renault) +1.906s
10. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +2.036s