Hamilton grabs pole at Silverstone

By Elmar Dreher Jul 7, 2007, 20:14 GMT

British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Mclaren Mercedes celebrates after qualifying in pole position for the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone race track in Northamptonshire, central England, 07 July 2007. The Grand Prix takes place on 08 July 2007. EPA/GEOFF CADDICK

Silverstone, Britain - Lewis Hamilton claimed a third pole position in four races on Saturday as the McLaren-Mercedes driver registered the fastest qualifying time for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old thrilled the home crowd on his debut Formula One appearance at the Silverstone circuit as he registered a time of one minute 19.997 seconds for the 5.141-kilometre circuit to become the first Briton in 11 years to claim pole at the British GP.

'It was an extremely intense qualifying session,' said Hamilton afterwards. 'It was all down to the last lap.'

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen will start from second on the grid thanks to a time of 1:20.099 minutes with defending world champion Fernando Alonso third fastest in the second McLaren, followed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa in fourth.

'We had the speed for pole position,' said a disappointed Raikkonen, who lost valuable time after going wide on the final corner of his final qualifying lap.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso tried to put a brave face on yet again qualifying behind Hamilton.

'I am quite happy with the car and how we performed today,' said the Spaniard. 'Hopefully we can overtake people in the race.'

Robert Kubica of BMW-Sauber qualified in fifth while Toyota's Ralf Schumacher will start from sixth on the grid.

The Renaults of Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella start from seventh and eighth respectively with BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli of Toyota completing the top 10.

In the drivers' championship, Hamilton leads with 64 points, 14 clear of Alonso, with Massa on 47 and Raikkonen on 42.

F1 sensation Hamilton, who has finished on the podium in his first eight races this season, said he was looking forward a very partisan British crowd cheering him on in Sunday's race.

I saw the reaction of the fans. It's great to be home,' he said. 'I'm finding this weekend is quite positive for me.'