An emotional Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for his home British Grand Prix during a knife edge qualifier with Sebastian Vettel while Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth to put himself the fourth row on the grid.
The difference between the four times world champions came down to just 0.044 seconds at the end, with Vettel 0.057 faster after their first flying laps around a sizzling Silverstone circuit.
Hamilton, who will be chasing his fifth successive home win on Sunday to retake the lead from his German rival, was shaking as he parked up, leapt out and punched the air.
His lap of one minute 25.892 seconds was a track record.
“I gave it everything I could, but it was so close with these Ferraris,” he said, addressing the crowd with their Hamilton banners and flags.
“I was just praying I could do it for you guys.
“For me it feels like one of the best laps that I have been able to produce,” the 33-year-old told reporters later.
“It felt like the most pressurised lap I have ever had.
“I was shaking through the emotion and the adrenaline rush which was way above the limit of what I had experienced before,” he added.
“It’s my 76th but it’s so special.”
Vettel, had suffered a cricked neck in final practice that left him unsure whether he would be able to take part in the session, said he had lost pace on the straight but was happy with his afternoon.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will line up third with Hamilton’s Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas completing the second row of the grid.
Hamilton, a point behind fellow-four times champion Vettel after nine races, has now had six poles at Silverstone and Saturday was his fourth in a row at the circuit he has come to dominate since his debut in 2007.
The Red Bull pairing of Dutch 20-year-old Max Verstappen, winner in Austria last weekend, and Australian Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth and sixth.
“We lose more than a second on the straights so this track is getting less and less favourable for us,” commented Verstappen.
“But the car is strong…it’s going to be a struggle with the guys ahead. Last time we said it was going to be a boring race, and it was a very entertaining race, so let’s see.”