Formula one star in pole position

Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton delighted his home fans at Silverstone today when he claimed pole position for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old set the track alight to become the first British driver to take pole at Silverstone since Damon Hill in his title-winning year of 1996.

Hamilton, who was born in born in Tewin, Hertfordshire, and has stunned the racing world with his amazing form this season, is now odds-on favourite to win the race on his home turf.

He scorched around the track in one minute, 19.997 seconds to claim his third pole in four races ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen’s in second with a time 0.102 seconds behind.

Afterwards, Hamilton – who is still the championship leader – thanked the packed grandstands for their support.

He said: “It was an extremely intensive qualifying. Ferrari and Kimi were extremely quick and it all came down to that last lap and I had to pull it out.

“I’m very excited about tomorrow now. I could see so many fans out there today. It’s unreal.

“I came across the line and I could hear the crowd, but I was screaming just as loud as them. I nearly lost my voice.”

He added: “I like to make people happy. Driving around I do see the Hamilton flags and I get a big buzz and a lot of energy.”

The 22-year-old, who began go-karting at the age of eight, is only the fourth rookie in Formula One history to win at least two races in his debut season.

His McClaren teammate Fernando Alonso will start in third tomorrow and Ferrari’s other driver Felipe Massa starts in fourth.

Britain’s Jenson Button has his lowest grid position of the year at 18th after failing to go beyond the first 15-minute phase of qualifying.

Bookies William Hill now have Hamilton 11/10 favourite to win the Grand Prix and 4/9 favourite to win the World Title.

Such is his popularity that Formula 1 is now a major betting sport with turnover on tomorrow’s race potentially likely to be a record-breaking £10m (€14.8m), the bookies claim.

But they will have to brace themselves if Hamilton does win because it will be their biggest financial hit on a Grand Prix for years.

Spokesman Graham Sharpe said today: “In percentage terms it will be as bad a result as Frankie Dettori winning the Derby a few weeks ago.”