Lewis Hamilton will draw on former Silverstone glories in his quest to win Sunday’s behind-closed-doors British Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s seemingly inevitable canter towards a record-equalling seventh world championship was provided with another boost here after he put his Mercedes on pole position.

In a crushing display, Hamilton finished three tenths clear of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, and a full second faster than third-placed Max Verstappen, with the fastest time ever recorded at the former World War Two Royal Air Force base.

Hamilton lapped the 3.7-mile track at an average speed of 156.6 mph to take the 91st pole of his career, and seventh at Silverstone – making him the first driver to take seven poles at his home race.

“That was probably the hardest turnaround knowing that Valtteri had been putting in quick lap after quick lap. So going into Q3, with a fresh reset mentally and pulling out those two laps, I feel great.”

Hamilton’s only rival for the win will come in the form of Bottas as Mercedes continue to obliterate their bewildered opposition.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, 1.1 sec down, while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel ended up in 10th, an eye-watering two seconds off Hamilton’s pace.

Lando Norris will be in the mix for a second career podium after he finished fifth, two places ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz – the McLaren cars split by Racing Point’s Lance Stroll.

Alexander Albon’s rocky campaign continued as he was unable to get his Red Bull through to Q3. Red Bull are historically ruthless in axing drivers and the London-born Albon, who qualified only 12th here, faces a precarious future if his one-lap performances fail to improve.

Williams’ George Russell will start his home race from last after he was penalised five places for failing to slow under yellow flags following team-mate Nicholas Latifi’s spin.