Lewis Hamilton fears Kimi Antonelli could spoil the British Grand Prix party by running away with victory in front of a record crowd at Silverstone on Sunday.
Antonelli will line up from pole position for the 52-lap race after he followed up his sprint win earlier on Saturday by excelling in qualifying to leave his British rivals trailing.
Hamilton starts third on the grid, a place back from Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and a spot clear of George Russell in the other Mercedes after a disappointing day for the world championship hopeful.
Hamilton’s mood after qualifying marked a stark contrast from 24 hours previously where he claimed an unexpected pole for the sprint race.
Hamilton led the 17-lap dash to the chequered flag – only to finish runner-up after Antonelli stormed past him on the eighth lap – before he finished 0.347 seconds back in qualifying for Sunday’s race.
“We couldn’t (beat Antonelli) this morning so I don’t think that really changes,” said a downbeat Hamilton when asked about his prospects.
“He has just gone way quicker than I did yesterday (in qualifying) and nothing will change between today and tomorrow. We will do our best to hold on to him but if he gets a clean run, he is off.”
No other driver comes near to Hamilton’s record nine victories on home soil, with the 41-year-old having produced a series of magical moments here across the last two decades.
And when asked if he has any more magic in his locker – with a partisan crowd in excess of 175,000 expected to cheer him on – Hamilton replied: “I am hoping for a good day tomorrow and with this wind direction, who knows?”
Hamilton indicated earlier in the week that he would not take part in a ‘LEGO race’ prior to Sunday’s main event, apparently over a pay dispute.
All 22 drivers have been provided with a vehicle made out of 28,000 LEGO bricks for the one-lap extravaganza.
But pressed as to whether he would be involved, Hamilton hinted he had reversed his decision. “Everything is as normal tomorrow,” he said.
Antonelli, not 20 until August, has been a revelation so far this season, and he will be the strong favourite to take his sixth win at the ninth round.
His victory in the sprint race allowed the Italian teenager to increase his title lead over team-mate Russell to 44 points and Hamilton to 47.
Russell had been hoping to carry over his winning form from last weekend’s race in Austria, but he finished a distant fourth in the sprint and then broke his front wing in Q1, after he ran through the gravel at Luffield, before qualifying fourth.
Russell said: “I felt on the back foot coming into today and I’ll do my best tomorrow to get on the podium.”
Lando Norris won last year’s race but he is only sixth on the grid.
“We are just slow in the straight, slow in every corner, the air is not very efficient, we lack downforce and we have too much drag,” said the McLaren driver. “We’re in a bit of a pickle.”
Norris starts one place ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion was out-qualified by Isack Hadjar with his team-mate two positions better off in fifth.
