LEWIS Hamilton is on course to deliver his second home triumph in two years after securing pole position for the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton edged out Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, whom he has a 10-point lead over in the race for the drivers' championship, by 0.113sec in qualifying, to the delight of the 110,000 crowd.

But the world champion admitted afterwards that he had feared that a third pole at Silverstone was not on the cards after a troubled day of practice. Rosberg ended both Friday sessions on top of the time-sheets, while the Briton could only manage second and fourth.

"Yesterday I was really lost with the balance of the car," Hamilton said. "We made changes that would normally improve it but actually made it worse. It takes a step out of your stride and you have to recover. But if it was easy it wouldn't be so exciting."

Hamilton, who is bidding for a fifth win of the season, added: "I like being faced with these things and trying to rectify them and improve. It makes today even more satisfying when it's not perfect all the time and you pull out that good lap."

Hamilton, who joined Rosberg in front of thousands of fans on Silverstone's Main Stage last night, said: "I've been very fortunate to have had those two wins here and the support has been incredible every year.

"It's the banners that are out there, it's the flags, it's the team caps, it's the messages that get sent every day through social media. I was replying to some just before qualifying and they really create the atmosphere and that buzz.

"When I'm about to start my lap or when I finish my lap, looking out of the corner of your eye and you know those guys are there, they're right behind you, so I hope that that wave of energy that they give will help to carry us."

Hamilton will start ahead of his team-mate for the eighth time in nine races this season, but only four of the last 20 pole-sitters at Silverstone have gone on to grace the top step of the podium.

And on the two occasions Hamilton has triumphed, in 2008 and again last year, it has not been from the front of the grid.

Indeed, Hamilton started from pole at Silverstone in his debut season and in 2013, but finished third and fourth on those occasions respectively.

Rosberg said with a grin: "I know those statistics and the chances of winning are much bigger to win the race from second so I am quite pleased with that today."

Hamilton secured his 46th career pole, which leaves him behind only Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna in the pantheon of all-time qualifying greats, in his first run of the top-10 shootout. Neither he nor Rosberg improved on their times in the closing stages of the session.

"The first lap was really good and I was sure I would be ahead of Lewis so I was disappointed to see that he was a 10th of a second ahead of me," Rosberg added.

But the German remains confident he can upset the home crowd hoping for a Hamilton victory today.

"This weekend was one of the biggest differences in terms of long-run pace over a practice session on Friday," he said.

"Lewis was struggling quite a lot there so that is another hope that I have. It could be another thing which helps me tomorrow." At the back of the grid, McLaren endured another disastrous afternoon after Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button qualified in the penultimate row.

Button, who could be making his final Silverstone outing, was in jovial form, however, despite posting a time which was quicker than only Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi for Manor.

Asked what rule he would like to see introduced to Formula One in a bid to spice up the sport, Button said: "Reversed grids? That would be quite good this year, but change it for next year, maybe."

Adopting a more serious tone, the 2009 world champion, who has finished in the points at just one race this season, added: "It wasn't the highlight of my year. In front of the home crowd you want to have a great weekend but the fans understand the position we have been in.

"When it comes to your home grand prix we all get a little bit excited and hope for more, but it was always going to be difficult this weekend. I thought we could get into Q2, but that was before we drove this weekend.

"It is a difficult position for all of us. I have really crappy days and moments that I am not happy and qualifying was one of them.

"But there is no point us being down because that is not going to help us improve. Smiling is better than frowning."