Mercedes star Valtteri Bottas says it feels fantastic to be starting at the front of the chasing pack for Sunday’s British Grand Prix after beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole position on Saturday.

In a gripping qualification stage at the famous Silverstone circuit, Bottas managed to edge out defending world champion Hamilton by 0.006seconds to clinch his fourth pole position of the season.

The Finn, who has two runner-up finishes at the British Grand Prix but never gone on to win, is now in the perfect position heading into Sunday’s spectacle as he aims for win number three this season.

Speaking after qualifying, Bottas, quoted as saying by BBC Sport, said: “It was very good again, it reminds you why you do this. It’s been pretty close all weekend and today with Lewis – it’s good to get a good lap and get pole.”

Hamilton was full of praise for his team-mates performance in Q3 but the British ace is still optimistic of landing a record sixth Silverstone victory. “Firstly congratulations to Valtteri he did a great job in qualifying, and I wasn’t good enough,” he said.

“It got a bit away from us, I sacrificed a lap in Q2 which would’ve helped us, and the second lap in Q3 just wasn’t that good. “It’s a long race tomorrow and we’ve got a great crowd here so we’ll see what we can do.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start from third on the grid but team-mate Sebastian Vettel is down in sixth after he was behind both Red Bulls, with Max Verstappen fourth and Pierre Gasly fifth.

Bottas is priced at 9.00 to win Sunday’s race while Hamilton is the 1.07 favourite to claim the spoils.