F1 British Grand Prix: Who has taken the most number of poles?

The F1 British GP has been one of the standout races for a long time now. The track has produced some scintillating action every time there has been a race there and most of it is down to the well-balanced nature of the track. To succeed at Silverstone, one needs to have a car that is fantastic in the slow-speed corners and efficient enough to roar through Copse without lifting.

With a regular lap lasting for more than 100 seconds, one needs to nail every part of the track to put together a perfect lap. Even though the race result is still wide open, it takes a lot of talent and commitment to hit the sweet spot. Not to forget, the satisfaction afterward in nailing the lap.

Over the years, the pole position for the British GP has carried so much prestige, especially for the British drivers who race in front of their home crowd, that it definitely gives them a boost.

There is this famous saying from Nigel Mansell that racing in front of the home crowd always gave him as much as half a second over his teammate.

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Who has the most poles at the F1 British GP?

The pole position at the British GP is not the easiest cookie to crack as British F1 world champion Jenson Button found out. Throughout his career, that kind of success eluded him.

So, who is the most successful qualifier at the British GP? Well, it's none other than Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver got the ball rolling early in his career as smashed pole position in his first-ever F1 race at Silverstone in 2007. Since then, he has not looked back. Hamilton has as many as 7 pole positions at the track and he's been the undisputed king with Jim Clark trailing him with 5 pole positions.

The Mercedes driver has scored pole positions at the venue in 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 (to add to his 8 F1 wins on the track as well).

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Which of Lewis Hamilton's F1 British GP pole positions was the most impressive?

To talk about Lewis Hamilton's most impressive pole position, one has to first set the stage for it. The 2007 F1 season was his rookie season. He teamed up with a force of nature in the form of Fernando Alonso, a driver who was a 2-time reigning world champion, and one who beat the legendary Michael Schumacher.

To make things more interesting, Ferrari had one of the best talents on the grid (and the eventual champion of the season) in Kimi Raikkonen, with Felipe Massa coming into his own. This was the group the Briton was expected to compete against.

In his rookie season, until that race, not only had Lewis Hamilton competed against these drivers, he had beaten them. In fact, he led the championship going into that year's British GP. Alonso had found it hard to keep up with him while Raikkonen was missing the much-needed consistency to stay in contention.

At the 2007 F1 British GP, the rookie McLaren driver was greeted with resounding applause by the fans who cheered for him. As a young 20-something-year-old and in his first season against Alonso and Raikkonen, Hamilton could have played it safe. He could have kept a tenth or two in hand and secured a front-row or second-row start.

The young McLaren driver, however, went all out, did not leave an inch on the track, and secured pole position by just a tenth of a second. This was the true hallmark of Hamilton's greatness that so many of the pundits saw and recognized early in his career.