There is always something special about Silverstone – I’ve seen a few Grands Prix there, but I also had the chance to drive the circuit just after the 1990 GP.
(Sorry about the potato quality photos – it was a simple little camera with no zoom)
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
DRS disabled – race control think it’s too damp for DRS
Air temperature 21°C; track 22°C; humidity 80%
The queue at pit exit is headed by the Mercedes on soft (dry) tyres
Some of those who went out on intermediates are immediately pitting for dry tyres
RUS 1:35.257
Yellow flags – HAM spun in Stowe but dragged it back out of the gravel
PIA 1:34.596
OCO 1:34.204
VER 1:33.535 … but it’s deleted for exceeding track limits in Stowe
Radio from SAR reporting rain
ALO 1:31.437
(VER P2)
Radio for RUS telling him they’re expecting drizzle in about 4 minutes
RUS 1:31.414
ALO 1:30,730
(HAM P3)
VER 1:30.719
Radio from RUS, “It’s raining everywhere”
Stowe is looking particularly slippery
DEV is released right into the side of PIA but fortunately they avoid contact – that’s got to be a big penalty
5mins left; bottom 5 are MAG, ZHO, SAR, BOT, ALB
Yellow flag – MAG is stuck at the side of the track, on the racing line just before pit entry
Red flag, Q1 suspended with 3:11 left
Replay shows MAG’s Haas lost power and he coasted to a stop – maybe he could have parked on the grass but it would still be in a fairly dangerous position
MAG’s car is on a flatbed and being brought back to the pit lane
VER has hit the pit wall coming out of his garage, broken his front wing!
Red Bull mechanics replace VER’s front wing; he manages to get out this time, but he’s still close to the wall
Q1 resumes; bottom 5 are MAG, ZHO, SAR, BOT, ALB
PER 1:29.968
ALB 1:29.466; NOR P16
Chequered flag
NOR 1:28.917 – huge cheer!
(RUS P2)
(HAM P3)
Yellow flag – BOT has stopped off track
Back of the grid: PER, TSU, ZHO, DEV, MAG
Wow, PER set a P1 time and then (almost) everyone went faster, dropping him to P16
Replay of some crazy overtaking on the final lap
SAI had let LEC pass in the pit lane, but SAI passed LEC just as they were about to start their flying laps
Qualifying session 2
The sun is coming out again, but SAR reports the track is still slippery in places
ALO 1:30.660
LEC 1:29.934
NOR 1:29.427
(VER P2)
SAR’s lap time deleted for exceeding track limits
ALO 1:29.052
SAR has another lap deleted; so does STR
VER 1:28.570
PIA 1:28.567
5mins left; bottom 5 are HUL, HAM, STR, SAR, BOT
HAM 1:28.545; RUS P11
RUS P4, OCO P11
NOR 1:28.042
VER 1:27.702
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are GAS, OCO, HUL, STR, BOT
STR P10, SAR P11
OCO P12
HUL P10, STR P11
RUS P10, HUL P11
Middle of the grid: HUL, STR, OCO, SAR, BOT
Top 10 shootout is between VER, PIA, NOR, ALB, SAI, LEC, ALO, HAM, GAS, RUS
Qualifying session 3
DRS enabled
RUS 1:28.184
HAM 1:27.717
ALB P2
NOR P4
ALO P2
VER 1:27.084
LEC P3
SAI P4
PIA P3
GAS P8
Order after the first run: VER, HAM, PIA, LEC, SAI, ALO, ALB, GAS, RUS, NOR
3mins left; garages start to empty for final flying laps
LEC P2
Chequered flag
SAI P3
RUS P4
ALO P5
HAM P5
NOR 1:26.961
PIA P3
VER 1:26.720
GAS P9
ALB P8
Provisional grid: VER, NOR, PIA, LEC, SAI, RUS, HAM, ALB, ALO, GAS, HUL, STR, OCO, SAR, BOT, PER, TSU, ZHO, DEV, MAG
McLaren P2 and P3 – that’s amazing
Unfortunately BOT’s car failed the fuel test (the scrutineers couldn’t collect a full sample) so he’s been disqualified from Quali; however the stewards have allowed him to race, starting from the pit lane.
Race
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE ANTHEM??? Make it stop!!!!
Whoever is responsible for selecting anthem singers should be fired! That was terrible!
Air temperature 22°C; track 28°C; humidity 54%; there’s rain in the distance
Grid: VER, NOR, PIA, LEC, SAI, RUS, HAM, ALB, ALO, GAS, HUL, STR, OCO, SAR, PER, TSU, ZHO, DEV, MAG, BOT*
*BOT starts from the pit lane
VER leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone starting on the medium compound tyres except RUS, OCO, TSU and DEV on softs, and just HUL and BOT on hards
NOR takes his P2 grid spot, pointing at VER
01/52: NOR leads into Turn 1
HAM runs wide; recovers
PIA now hassling VER
You can hear the crowd cheer as NOR passes each grandstand
02: NOR, VER, PIA, LEC, RUS, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, ALB, STR, OCO, TSU, HUL, PER, SAR, DEV, ZHO, BOT, MAG
LEC closing on PIA
03: NOR fastest lap 1:33.046
VER just under 1sec behind NOR so he’ll have DRS once it’s enabled at the end of this lap
04: PIA f/lap 1:32.499
VER reeling in NOR
05/52: NOR, VER, PIA, LEC, RUS, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, ALB, STR, OCO, TSU, HUL, PER, SAR, DEV, ZHO, BOT, MAG
VER dives inside NOR to steal P1 – that Red Bull has such a huge advantage (Don’t mention budget caps)
RUS looking to pass SAI but the Ferrari seems to be moving around a lot
06: HAM on ALO’s rear wing
Radio for NOR telling him PIA has been told to hold position
07: HAM lining up ALO for a pass… and takes P7
Replay of PER passing HUL for P13; contact; part of HUL’s front wing goes flying
HUL pits; new front wing; takes on medium tyres; rejoins P20
09: VER has opened a 1sec gap so NOR has lost DRS
PIA has DRS behind NOR so will he hold station or attack his teammate?
10/52: VER, NOR, PIA, LEC, RUS, SAI, HAM, ALO, GAS, ALB, STR, OCO, PER, TSU, SAR, DEV, ZHO, BOT, MAG, HUL
OCO pits; he’s wheeled into the garage
11: Radio for RUS telling him the weather radar says the rain will miss the circuit; RUS says there’s rain drops on his visor (Sure it’s not sweat? 😉 )
12: PER up to P11
14: Radio from VER, “the wind is making it difficult to drive”
15/52: VER, NOR, PIA, LEC, RUS, SAI, HAM, ALO, GAS, ALB
TSU pits
Radio from VER, “Light drizzle”
16: NOR has run wide in two consecutive laps; Stowe and Copse are the main corners where people are exceeding track limits
17: VER now over 3.5sec clear of NOR
PER uses DRS to take P10 from ALB
18: Alpine say OCO was retired due to a hydraulic leak
19: LEC pits from P4; hards go on; rejoins P12
20/52: VER, NOR, PIA, RUS, SAI, HAM, ALO, GAS, PER, ALB, STR, LEC, SAR, DEV, ZHO, BOT, MAG, TSU, HUL; out: OCO
VER f/lap 1:32.338
Radio for NOR asking how many laps he can do at this pace; NOR says he can keep going
21: VER f/lap 1:32.295
22: Closest battle is GAS chasing ALO for P7; GAS is the only one with DRS at the moment
23: VER f/lap 1:32.184
25/52: VER, NOR, PIA, RUS, SAI, HAM, ALO, GAS, PER, ALB
26: LEC uses DRS to catch STR and take P11
Half distance
27: SAI pits from P5; hards go on; rejoins P12
28: Radio from NOR asking how the hard tyres look; he’s told they’re not amazing but the best option
29: RUS pits; replaces softs with mediums; rejoins P9
PER pits too
30/52: PIA pits from P3; hards go on; rejoins P6
SAI f/lap 1:31.945
SAI takes P10 from STR
31: PER f/lap 1:31.408
RUS looking at the outside of LEC
LEC defends but RUS attacks again; takes P8
32: PIA passes GAS for P5
GAS pits, followed by STR; both take on soft tyres
33: MAG has stopped on the Wellington Straight; a little fire and the smoke from the Haas
VSC deployed
ALB, LEC, BOT all pit
LEC takes on mediums; released very close to ALB
VSC replaced by the full SC
34[SC]: VER and NOR pit, followed by HAM and ALO
VER goes on to softs; NOR on hard!
HAM softs; ALO softs
Why did McLaren put NOR on hard tyres? Zak Brown says they wanted new tyres rather than used softs
Marshals have pushed MAG’s car onto the grass
35/52[SC]: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, ALO, SAI, PER, ALB, LEC, GAS, STR, SAR, BOT, TSU, DEV, ZHO, HUL; out: MAG, OCO
36[SC]: MAG’s car being craned onto a flatbed truck, so it should clear soon
Radio from NOR asking about HAM’s tyre choice; told he’s on used softs; NOR’s not happy
37[SC]: ZHO in the pits again
Will Bernd Maylander lose his lap time for exceeding track limits? 🙂
38[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
VER backs everyone up ready for the restart
Remember no DRS for 3 laps
39: HAM closes on NOR
NOR defends as he tries to get his hard tyres up to temp
HAM has another look but the McLaren keeps P2
40/52: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, ALO, SAI, PER, ALB, LEC, STR, GAS, SAR, BOT, TSU, HUL, DEV, ZHO
VER f/lap 1:30.348
HAM has another look; they get close to making contact; HAM backs out
Radio from RUS complementing the McLaren for being “so fast on the hards”
41: DRS enabled
Replay of STR passing GAS while off the track, so he’ll have to give GAS P11 back
42: HAM has soft tyres and DRS, so he ought to catch NOR before the tyres start to go off
43: VER f/lap 1:30.275
That’s weird – race control say “no further action” for STR passing GAS while off the track, but then delete his lap time for exceeding track limits
44: PER storms past SAI for P7 … and ALB follows through
LEC passes teammate SAI too – does SAI have a problem?
GAS past STR for P11
45/52: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, ALO, PER, ALB, LEC, SAI, GAS, STR, SAR, BOT, HUL, TSU, ZHO, DEV
GAS around the outside of SAI to take P10 but SAI fights back to reclaim it
46: GAS runs wide, struggles to get back on track – look like something’s broken – was there contact?
47: PER takes ALO for P6
Replay of GAS and STR banging wheels – it’s under investigation
48: GAS has made it back to the pits but he’s wheeled into the garage
Black and white flag for RUS for exceeding track limits; once more and he’ll get a 5sec penalty
Same for NOR
50/52: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, PER, ALO, ALB, LEC, SAI, STR, SAR, BOT, HUL, TSU, ZHO, DEV; out: GAS, MAG, OCO
5-sec penalty for STR for causing the collision with GAS
51: ALB has DRS behind ALO, and LEC has DRS behind ALB
52: LEC outside ALB but the Williams hangs on to P8
VER takes the chequered flag
NOR P2
HAM P3
PIA P4
RUS P5 – that’s 3 Brits in the top 5
Provisional result: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, PER, ALO, ALB, LEC, SAI; SAR, BOT, HUL, STR, ZHO, TSU, DEV
DNF: GAS, MAG, OCO
Fastest lap: VER (lap 43)
[2023 calendar and driver line-up]
