The roar of 150,000 fans had barely faded when another kind of thunder rolled down Silverstone's pit lane: 50 models striding past working garages and race cars, turning one of motorsport's most recognisable locations into a catwalk for the first time.
M&S staged the landmark runway show earlier today as part of its multi-year partnership with Silverstone Circuit, ahead of the Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix 2026. Guests from fashion, sport and entertainment attended, including M&S ambassadors Jodie Kidd and Oliver Proudlock. Kidd, a fashion model and TV personality, said: “The two of my biggest loves, M&S which is beautiful fashion and Silverstone and F1. I was absolutely speechless, the drama of seeing 50 models all coming down with the backdrop of that noise was mind-blowing and I had extreme FOMO.”
“Hamilton takes sprint pole by 0.011 seconds as M&S holds first pit lane fashion show at Silverstone.”
The show came just hours after Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton pipped Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli to a stunning pole position for the Saturday sprint race — by just 0.011 seconds. The seven-time champion, a record nine-time winner of his home race, said: “Wow. OK. I like it. I love this place. I love this crowd. I can't express to you how big a dream it is. We're ahead of Mercedes. They have so much power. We did not expect we would be competing for the front row, so it's an amazing surprise.”
Hamilton, third in the standings and 46 points behind championship leader Antonelli, credited small upgrades after a difficult Austrian race. “We brought some tiny bits here. I am really pleased to get pole. It was only 10 milliseconds or something like that and the team really deserve it.”
Antonelli, who trails Hamilton by 0.011 seconds, said: “It was so close and it was a shame. There was a little bit left on the table but it was a decent lap. Congrats to Lewis and we focus on tomorrow now.”
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third fastest, 0.321 seconds off the pace, and said Hamilton and Antonelli “look a bit quick” to challenge in the sprint. “It could easily have been P3 or P6/7,” he said. “We are still not where we want to be.”
Mercedes' George Russell, 40 points adrift of Antonelli, was a disappointing fifth behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris, the world champion and winner of this grand prix last year, managed only sixth for McLaren, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and British rookie Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
The sprint race at Silverstone takes place at 12:00 BST on Saturday.
Sharry Cramond, Marketing Director for Fashion, Home & Beauty at M&S, said: “We’re so excited to be partnering with Silverstone across its incredible season. Bringing fashion to the track like this, with the first ever pit lane fashion show, is a really bold step for us.”
For Hamilton, the dream continues — but Antonelli warned: “Ferrari have done an incredible step forward so it is going to be incredibly tough. Lewis is in great form. We like the challenge. We will go for it.”