Lewis Hamilton issues British GP warning after qualifying as path to victory explained

Lewis Hamilton has urged caution when setting expectations for the British Grand Prix, suggesting that the two Mercedes drivers will need the wet weather conditions to hold off Red Bull and McLaren.

The seven-time world champion will join team-mate and polesitter George Russell on the front row of the grid on Sunday after Mercedes converted their pace from practice into qualifying success.

However, while the Silver Arrows are the favourites heading into the race, Lando Norris was hot on their heels on Saturday, and Max Verstappen placed his RB20 into P4 despite carrying significant floor damage.

Hamilton made sure not to underestimate the threat of his rivals after recording his best qualifying finish of the season so far. “We’ll definitely take it today," he said.

"But these guys are still… you know… Red Bull and Max, and the McLarens are very, very, very fast and there’s a whole race to tackle. We saw in the last race they were quite a bit ahead of us, so I’m hoping that tomorrow, with the conditions, we can hold our own.”

Hamilton's caution was echoed by his team-mate. "What a feeling," Russell exclaimed after stealing the pole. "At the start of this year, we couldn't have dreamt of being on pole here.

"One-two for me and Lewis, Lando P3. Just mega. It's down to all these fans as well. They give us so much energy. The car at the moment is feeling so good. It really came alive in quali. What a joy to drive around this circuit.

"We are riding this wave at the moment. Absolutely buzzing. But eyes on tomorrow. We have a race to win. It will be tight with Lando and Max will be fast as well. I'm so excited right now."

This will go down as a landmark weekend for the Silver Arrows though, and after Russell claimed the team's first win of the year in Austria last weekend, this pole position confirms their transformation into true frontrunners.