Russell claims British GP pole, leads trio of Brits in top 3

The 2024 British Grand Prix will have plenty of local flair, as George Russell built on last week's win in Austria by taking pole for Sunday's home race at Silverstone Circuit.

Russell was 0.171 seconds ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who will start in P2 ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. It's the first time a trio of Brits will start in the top three of their home race.

Russell, who hails from King's Lynn, Norfolk, is the first British driver outside of Hamilton to earn P1 at the country's home Grand Prix since Damon Hill in 1996, per theScore's Daniel Valente.

"What a feeling. This is just mega," Russell said, according to The Associated Press. "The car at the moment is feeling so, so good. We are riding this wave and absolutely buzzing."

A wet track - rain showered Silverstone throughout final practice and the early stages of qualifying - helped drop Red Bull's Max Verstappen to P4. Verstappen's car was damaged in the first round of qualifying after he spun into the gravel. Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five.

Hamilton, who's won the British Grand Prix seven times since 2014, will start up front for the first time this season.

"Three Brits in the top three is incredible. George did such a great job," Hamilton said, according to BBC Sport's Andrew Benson. "We didn't expect to be on the front row this weekend. This is huge for our team."

Sergio Perez got stuck in the gravel during Q1, forcing a red flag while he was rescued. The incident sent Perez tumbling into P19.