Russell and Hamilton were peerless at the crunch, with their fellow pole contenders collapsing through error or damage on their final laps.
Provisional pole belonged to Russell, but Hamilton pinched top spot for himself with his second lap, setting the best time of the day in the final sector to pull clear of the field.
But it wasn’t to last. Russell was slow at the first split but was fastest of all in the second and third sectors to put himself 0.171 second ahead of his teammate and secure his third career pole position to signal Mercedes’s sustainable return to the frontrunning group.
“What a feeling,” he said. “At the start of this year I don’t think we could’ve even dreamt of being pole here,” he said.
“The car at the moment is feeling so, so good. It really came alive in quali - what a joy to drive around this circuit.
“We’re riding this wave at the moment, absolutely buzzing, but eyes on tomorrow. We’ve got a race to win.”
Hamilton was magnanimous in defeat, paying credit to the team for reversing the car’s dire form at the beginning of the season.
“A huge congratulations to George,” he said. “He did such a great job.
“We definitely didn’t expect to be front row this weekend, but this is huge for our team.
“The car felt fantastic out there. Everyone in the garage here, all our team that have come here, really deserve this.”
Lando Norris finished third after botching his final lap with a mistake in the first sector. The McLaren driver had been just 0.006s slower than Russell on provisional pole after their first laps and was optimistic for a strong Sunday.
“A little mistake on my part at the end, but P3 is still good,” he said.
“I’m excited. It’s going to be a good race. We’re quick. I can bring the fight to George and I can bring the fight to Lewis.
“I hope we’re going to have some good battles.”
Title leader Max Verstappen was fourth and 0.384s off the pace, but the Dutchman was hampered by floor damage picked up running over the gravel during Q1.
Red Bull Racing will be able to repair the floor or replace it with a like-for-like specification ahead of the grand prix, meaning he’s likely to play a role in the grand prix.
It’s a considerably better outlook than for teammate Sergio Pérez, who ran off the road at the same corner in Q1 but beached his car, leaving himself at the back of the grid.
Oscar Piastri put the second McLaren fifth after having his final lap spoilt by being released from pit lane too close to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari ahead.
Nico Hülkenberg impressed for the Ferrari-powered Haas team by qualifying sixth. ahead of Sainz in the lead works Ferrari.
Lance Stroll qualified eighth but is subject to a stewards investigation for exiting pit lane during a red flag in Q1.
Alex Albon qualified ninth ahead of Fernando Alonso in 10th.
Charles Leclerc was a shock 11th on a dire day for Ferrari, which this weekend took upgraded parts off the car in an attempt to restore it to the level of competitiveness it enjoyed in May, when it was Red Bull Racing’s closest challenger.
Logan Sargeant qualified 12th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardo after Q2.
Valtteri Bottas will line up 16th ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon.
The under-pressure Pérez was the big-name scalp of Q3, having beached his Red Bull Racing car in the gravel at Copse on his first lap on slick tyres on the drying circuit.
Pérez, who this week has been heavily rumoured to be under pressure of being axed before his new contract comes into effect next season owing to his protracted form slump, will line up 19th and faces a long grand prix starting ahead of only Pierre Gasly, who qualified last but was set to start from the back with an engine change penalty.