British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

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Home favourite Lewis Hamilton admitted he revelled in the pressure of bouncing back from a qualifying scare to claim pole position for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Hamilton appeared comfortably on course to delight the partisan Silverstone crowd after blitzing his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with his opening lap in the shoot-out for pole.

But his time was controversially chalked off by the stewards after he was found guilty of placing all four wheels of his Mercedes off the track at the ultra-fast Copse corner.

The decision promoted Rosberg to provisional pole, but Hamilton, under intense scrutiny, delivered the goods in the closing moments of the session to claim the 55th pole of his career, and thus start Sunday's race as the overwhelming favourite to become the first driver to seal a hat-trick of consecutive victories here at Silverstone.

"I feel like I have been under pressure my whole life, and I just feel comfortable in that scenario," a jubilant Hamilton said.

"If I was having an argument with someone I would feel less comfortable because I don't like confrontations. In a car, it is to do with confidence and belief in your ability.

"I do enjoy, and often do things the hard way. I don't know why, but that is how it has been in my life."

Despite the fear of team orders following their final-lap collision in Austria last week, Hamilton and Rosberg will be free to race for the remainder of the season, albeit with the threat of a team-imposed ban should they collide again.

Their dramatic crash at the Red Bull Ring sparked yet another flashpoint in a turbulent relationship between the pair who first locked horns on a race track as teenagers.

"We're here to do a job," said Hamilton reflecting on his relationship with the German, who was sitting alongside him. Both Mercedes drivers live in Monaco.

"When we're at home it is very easy. Not too long ago I was swimming in the pool downstairs and Nico came down and we had a chat. It was just normal, there was no racing, there was no agenda. When we are racing, it's fierce competition. That's how it has been since we were 13."

Hamilton has won here in successive years and Rosberg, 11 points clear in the championship, would appear to have it all to do to beat his team-mate on Sunday.

Rosberg said: "Am I alarmed? No, Lewis was quicker today and I accept that, but there is a great opportunity tomorrow.

"There is low grip so the start is going to be unusually difficult. It has not been one of Lewis' strengths recently. It is still all to play for."

For a brief moment it appeared as though matters would worsen for Rosberg after he was summoned to the stewards for an alleged safety car line breach in qualifying. The stewards however, took no further action.

Elsewhere, Jenson Button's Silverstone hoodoo continued after he was knocked out of qualifying at the first hurdle. Button, who has never secured a podium finish in front of his home fans, will start 17th in his 17th British Grand Prix. Jolyon Palmer will be 18th on his Silverstone bow.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo locked out the front row for Red Bull while Sebastian Vettel will start only 11th after serving a penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
British Grand Prix Qualifying Times

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 29.287secs
2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:29.606
3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:30.313
4 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:30.618
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:30.881
6 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:31.490
7 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:31.557
8 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:31.920
9 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:31.989
10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:32.343
11 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:31.875
12 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:32.002
13 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:32.050
14 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Haas F1 1:32.241
15 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:32.306
16 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Renault 1:37.060
17 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:32.788
18 Jolyon Palmer (Gbr) Renault 1:32.905
19 Rio Haryanto (Ina) Manor Racing 1:33.098
20 Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Manor Racing 1:33.151
21 Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.544
22 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari No Time

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Lewis Hamilton delighted his home crowd by completing a hat-trick of consecutive victories at the British Grand Prix.

The defending champion dominated in the changeable conditions to march to victory and in doing so became the most successful British driver at Silverstone with his fourth win.

Hamilton has moved to within four points of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who crossed the line in second place. However, the German faces a post-race investigation by the stewards following messages transmitted to him over the radio as he battled a late gearbox issue.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen completed the podium places following another impressive performance.

Hamilton, who jumped out of his car, leaped the barrier and took a bow in front of his adoring crowd, said: "I don't know if you can be as happy as me but I am really happy. Thank you so much for coming out today. We have got the best fans here.

"Firstly I am glad that the good English weather came out. All of a sudden it rained and it was so tricky in those conditions. Trying not to make a mistake was difficult for all of us, but that is what I love about this race. It is never plain sailing. That is why the British Grand Prix is the best grand prix we have."

Dark clouds had loomed ominously above the Northamptonshire circuit and heavy rain began to fall 15 minutes before the race started.

Race director Charlie Whiting took the unpopular decision to start the grand prix under the safety car and for the opening laps pole-sitter Hamilton led an orderly queue.

But the defending champion - after nearly crashing into the safety car - urged Whiting to get the race under way and he finally got his wish at the end of lap five.

Hamilton, a natural in the inclement conditions, opened up a four-second lead over Rosberg in just one lap. It was a statement of intent and one which would set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.

The track was quickly deemed dry enough for the intermediate tyre and it led to chaotic scenes in the pit lane as a host of cars jostled for the same bit of asphalt.

The order at the front remained unchanged but with the circuit continuing to dry out, the question was who would pit for the slick rubber first? The answer was Sebastian Vettel at the end of lap 15.

On track, Verstappen was chomping all over the back of Rosberg's Mercedes gearbox and after nibbling away he made the move of the race stick when he passed the championship leader around the outside at Chapel. It was a fantastic move and one which will enhance the 18-year-old's growing reputation.

The top three were soon in for dry tyres and when the order shook out, Hamilton held a seven-second lead over Verstappen with Rosberg four seconds further down the road.

While the majority of the track was dry, Abbey, the first corner, was still catching a number of drivers out. Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Carlos Sainz all endured hairy moments while Rio Haryanto beached his Manor in the gravel and retired from the race.

Hamilton was the next big casualty after sliding off the road at turn one but he recovered to rejoin the circuit and lost just two seconds. Verstappen also ran wide at Abbey as he came under increasing pressure from Rosberg, and on lap 38 the German reclaimed second place as he passed the Red Bull driver around the outside at Stowe.

That looked to be that, but with five laps remaining Rosberg suddenly reported a gearbox problem and at one stage it appeared as though he would be caught by Verstappen. Rosberg survived on the track but now faces an investigation from the stewards for the information relayed to him by his team over the radio.

Rosberg, subjected to a chorus of pantomime boos on the podium, said: "Max got me and it was an exciting race against him. I managed to get him back around the outside which I was quite happy about. Congrats to Lewis. He did a great job this weekend. I couldn't reach him."

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line in fourth with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen fifth. Jenson Button's Silverstone hoodoo continued as he finished a lowly 12th while British rookie Jolyon Palmer failed to finish with a mechanical problem.