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Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole position for the British Grand Prix after edging Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in Saturday's qualifying.
Hamilton, in his first season with Mercedes, beat Rosberg for the pole in the closing seconds when he completed his lap around the 3.7-mile Silverstone Circuit in 1 minute, 29.607 seconds. He earned his second pole of the season and the 28th of his Formula One career.
It will be the second time Hamilton starts on the pole for his home race. The Englishman started first in the British GP when he was a rookie in 2007. He won this race in 2008.
"It feels incredible to be on pole, just like it did back in 2007," Hamilton said. "My lap in Q3 was a lap for the fans out there around the circuit. I haven't been feeling comfortable in the car all weekend, so I was really happy to find a good lap."
Rosberg, who was fastest in the second and third practice sessions, held the provisional pole with his lap in 1:30.059 before Hamilton made his final lap. It's the third time this season Mercedes has swept the front starting row. Rosberg and Hamilton also shared the front row for the Spanish Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix, both being held in May.
"My lap was good, and starting from the front row is great, but Lewis did a fantastic job today," Rosberg said. "I hope we have improved our race pace. It will be all about tire management and keeping the others behind us. I'm confident that we can get a good result."
Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will line-up on the second row, with Vettel, the three-time defending F1 world champion and current points leader, qualifying third and Webber taking the fourth spot.
"Either Lewis found a short cut or he has something special around here," Vettel said. "I was very happy with the lap that I did at the end. It was very close with Mark. We did what we could for the team, and it's always nice to position well in qualifying, especially around here."
Webber announced on Thursday that he is leaving Formula One at the end of this season and joining Porsche's new sports car program in the Le Mans 24 Hours and World Endurance Championship in 2014. He won the British GP in 2010 and last year.
Paul di Resta from Force India qualified fifth, followed by Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo. Di Resta's teammate, Adrian Sutil, was seventh. Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen qualified eighth and ninth, respectively.
Ferrari struggled in qualifying, with Fernando Alonso finishing in 10th and Felipe Massa in 12th. Alonso is a two-time British GP winner (2006 and '11).
Sunday's 52-lap British GP is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. ET.
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