Grand Prix of Great Britain – Qualifying

Great to hear that Silverstone’s contract has been renewed for another five years.

I’ve been busy at the Toronto Indy race weekend, so I’m catching up on F1 quite a bit later and somehow I’ve avoided spoilers so far.

With HAM finishing down in P5 in Austria and BOT in P3, there’s just 31 points between the Mercedes pair.

Quick catch up with Free Practice:

1. FP1: GAS (1:27.173), BOT, VER, HAM, LEC
   RUS and NOR both spun at their home circuit, as did VER and LEC
   RAI’s Alfa stopped on track and had to be pushed clear by marshals
   GRO spun at pit out and broke the Haas’ front wing [video]
2. BOT (1:26.732), HAM, LEC, VET, GAS
   Quite a few people ran wide
   RIC’s engine cut out
3. LEC (1:25.905), VET, HAM, GAS, VER
   A wet session at first, but everyone took to the track as it started to dry out
   KVY almost squeezed BOT into the armco at Woodcote, and then MAG nearly did the same to SAI

Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Air temperature 18°C; track 31°C; 69% humidity; wind 8km/hr
RAI 1:27.500
ALB 1:27.289
NOR 1:27.218
GRO 1:26.753
SAI 1:26.689
VER leaving the Red Bull garage on soft compound tyres (The Ferrari duo went out on mediums)
Radio from VET asking why he had no DRS between turns 5 and 6
ALB 1:26.482
NOR 1:26.079
HAM is on soft tyres too; in fact everyone except VET & LEC are on softs
LEC 1:25.628
HAM 1:25.513
3mins left; bottom 5 are GIO, STR, PER, RUS, KUB
GIO P10, KVY P16
Chequered flag
PER P15, MAG P16
Back of the grid: MAG, KVY, STR, RUS, KUB

Qualifying session 2
It’s looking quite overcast so there’s a rush to get on track
Track temp has dropped to 28°C
BOT 1:25.888
HAM 1:25.840 – both Mercedes on medium tyres
LEC 1:25.646
(VET P8 but he’s on softs – does he have a problem?)
Radio for VER telling him to look after his tyres as they’ll probably be his race tyres
3mins left; bottom 5 are ALB, PER, GIO, RAI, GRO
Most, if not all, are on track
Chequered flag
GRO P12
GIO P8, HUL P1
RAI P10, SAI P11
HUL P7, RAI P11
ALB P9, VET P11 !
VET P5, GIO P11 (softs)
LEC 1:25.546 (softs)
Middle of the grid: GIO, RAI, SAI, GRO, PER

Qualifying session 3
Top 10 shootout is between HAM, BOT, LEC, VET, VER, RIC, HUL, ALB, GAS, NOR
Bit of an untidy lap for HAM
HAM 1:25.345
BOT 1:25.093
HUL P3
RIC P3
GAS P3
VER P3
VET P5
LEC P4
Order after the first run: BOT, HAM, VER, LEC, GAS, VET, RIC, HUL; no time yet from ALB and NOR
NOR P8
ALB P10
2 minutes left; order is BOT, HAM, VER, LEC, GAS, VET, RIC, NOR, HUL, ALB
BOT and HAM not improving in sector 1
HAM P2
NOR P7
HUL P8
ALB P8
RIC P7
LEC P3
GAS P5
VER P4
Front of the grid: BOT, HAM, LEC, VER, GAS, VET, RIC, NOR, ALB, HUL

Provisional grid: BOT, HAM, LEC, VER, GAS, VET, RIC, NOR, ALB, HUL, GIO, RAI, SAI, GRO, PER, MAG, KVY, STR, RUS, KUB
No incidents under investigation and no engine change related penalties, as far as I know.