'Ecstatic' Lewis Hamilton voices shock over latest Ferrari triumph

Lewis Hamilton has voiced surprise over being able to contend at the front of the field on Friday at Silverstone.

The seven-time champion ended the early afternoon practice session on top of the timesheet and had similarly strong pace during sprint qualifying.

Hamilton ended the session with the fastest lap once again to secure pole position for Saturday's sprint race, besting championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s. 

It continued Hamilton's strong run of form that has been on show this year - but the 41-year-old admitted he was not expecting to be in the fight.

“We're ahead of Mercedes,” Hamilton said. “These guys and the Red Bulls, they have so much power. 

“But my team just won't let up, they'll keep pushing, and that's what I'm so proud of. 

“It won't always be like this, but we definitely didn't expect coming to Silverstone that we would be competing for the front row. We really, really didn't. 

“So, this is an amazing surprise. I'm ecstatic.”

The Italian squad endured a difficult weekend in Austria last time out and was unable to challenge at the front throughout the event.

However, based on its pace in practice and sprint qualifying, Hamilton is confident Ferrari can remain a genuine contender for the rest of the weekend.

“I think our pace was good. We did a short long run in FP1, there was not a lot of time.

“We should have a good race tomorrow. Starting from the front row, I don't remember the last time I started from the front row here.

“It's not so easy when you've got these guys that can follow you and be close with the extra power.”