Hamilton speeds to Silverstone pole

Home crowd favourite Lewis Hamilton achieved pole position at the British Grand Prix. Setting a new lap record in an exiting qualifying session.

The Mercedes driver was in the zone, full of confidence thanks to the fans support. His Q2 lap was an impressive one minute, 29.243 seconds. A new record at the home of motor racing.

In Q3, the championship challenger was on provisional pole with yet another solid lap. But race control deleted his time after exceeding track limits. The Mercedes driver gained extra speed on the exit of Copse corner with wheels off the circuit…

Hamilton bounced back on his final run, going another half a tenth faster to grab pole for his home race, again just over three tenths clear of Rosberg.

Red Bull locked out the second row of the grid, with Max Verstappen outqualifying team-mate Daniel Ricciardo for the first time, by 0.305 seconds.

Ferrari was next up, Kimi Raikkonen well clear of Sebastian Vettel. The four-time champion survived a massive slide at Stowe on his best lap in Q3, but will fall back to P11 when a gearbox-change penalty is applied.

Vettel’s lap was still enough to leave him 0.067 seconds clear of the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, while Fernando Alonso put his McLaren-Honda eighth quickest before his best time was deleted for running off track at Stowe.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg also had his best time deleted – for running wide at Copse – so Carlos Sainz claimed eighth place for Toro Rosso. Hulkenberg was demoted to ninth, Alonso in tenth.

Sergio Perez narrowly missed the top ten cut-off after a series of late improvements in Q2.

He trailed Force India team-mate Hulkenberg by just over a tenth of a second.

Felipe Massa ended up a disappointing P12 for Williams, just ahead of the Haas pairing of Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, and Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.

Both Grosjean and Kvyat failed to improve during their second runs in Q2, with Kvyat complaining of being blocked by Kevin Magnussen’s Renault.

Magnussen put Renault into Q2 for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix, despite having a time deleted for a track limits offence in Q1.

Magnussen’s P16 came at the expense of McLaren-Honda’s Jenson Button, who failed to escape Q1 after deciding not to do a second run.

Button’s first run was over half a second slower than team-mate Alonso, and left him only a few tenths clear of the drop zone.

Late improvements from Kvyat and Magnussen – who pipped Button by just 0.059 seconds – meant the British driver wound up only P17, in a car that should have been good enough for Q2.

Jolyon Palmer was the fastest Renault driver after the first runs in Q1 – despite both having times deleted for track limits offences – but failed to improve on his second run so ended up P18.

Rio Haryanto pipped Manor team-mate Pascal Wehrlein to be P19, while Sauber will bring up the rear of the grid.

Felipe Nasr was slowest of the runners and Marcus Ericsson failed to participate in qualifying after crashing heavily in final practice and going to hospital for precautionary checks.

So a popular pole position winner with Lewis Hamilton. Championship rival Nico Rosberg alongside. Will there be another clash between the Silver Arrows? We shall find out on race day at the British Grand Prix.

Qualifying positions, Silverstone:

1    Lewis Hamilton    Mercedes    1m29.287s
2    Nico Rosberg    Mercedes    1m29.606s
3    Max Verstappen    Red Bull-Renault    1m30.313s
4    Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull-Renault    1m30.618s
5    Kimi Raikkonen    Ferrari    1m30.881s
6    Valtteri Bottas    Williams-Mercedes    1m31.557s
7    Nico Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes    1m31.920s
8    Carlos Sainz    Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m31.989s
9    Fernando Alonso    McLaren-Honda    1m32.343s
10    Sergio Perez    Force India-Mercedes    1m31.875s
11    Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari    1m31.490s
12    Felipe Massa    Williams-Mercedes    1m32.002s
13    Romain Grosjean    Haas-Ferrari    1m32.050s
14    Esteban Gutierrez    Haas-Ferrari    1m32.241s
15    Daniil Kvyat    Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m32.306s
16    Kevin Magnussen    Renault    1m37.060s
17    Jenson Button    McLaren-Honda    1m32.788s
18    Jolyon Palmer    Renault    1m32.905s
19    Rio Haryanto    Manor-Mercedes    1m33.098s
20    Pascal Wehrlein    Manor-Mercedes    1m33.151s
21    Felipe Nasr    Sauber-Ferrari    1m33.544s
22    Marcus Ericsson    Sauber-Ferrari    No time

6 thoughts to “Hamilton speeds to Silverstone pole”

  1. British Grand Prix qualifying as reported by Formula1.com:

    The first of his two Q3 lap times was deleted for exceeding track limits, but the second was good enough to give Lewis Hamilton pole position for the 2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix, as he and Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg dominated Saturday’s qualifying.

    Hamilton was over three-tenths quicker than Rosberg, but no one else could get within a second of the world champion. Red Bull were the Silver Arrows’ nearest rivals, with Max Verstappen third and Daniel Ricciardo fourth.

    Kimi Raikkonen out-qualified Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel in fifth and sixth respectively, with the latter set to drop five grid places for a gearbox change. Valtteri Bottas was seventh for Williams, with Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso completing the top ten.

    Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson did not participate in qualifying following his heavy crash in final practice. The Swede climbed unaided from his wrecked car and was taken to hospital for routine medical checks.

    The afternoon’s opening Q1 phase saw Jenson Button’s hopes dashed right at the end of Q1. As the British driver sat helpless waiting for McLaren to remedy a loose rear wing, faster runs by Renault’s Kevin Magnussen and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat eased him down to 17th on 1m 32.788s, just 0.059s slower than the Russian.

    Button’s compatriot Jolyon Palmer also failed to make it through to Q2, the Renault racer’s 1m 32.905s being two-tenths off his Danish team mate’s time. Rio Haryanto just edged out Manor partner Pascal Wehrlein, with 1m 33.098s to 1m 33.151s, as Felipe Nasr struggled to 1m 33.544s in the sole Sauber to run.

    As Hamilton headed Rosberg by 0.727s in Q2 and Raikkonen made a meal of taking sixth place after a spin at Club and an off at Turn 3, Sainz’s late improvement to eighth pushed Sergio Perez out of Q3. The Mexican had lapped his Force India in 1m 31.875s. Behind him, Felipe Massa struggled to 12th on 1m 32.002s for Williams, just ahead of Romain Grosjean on 1m 32.050s for Haas. His team mate, Esteban Gutierrez was next on 1m 32.241s, followed by Kvyat on 1m 32.306s and Magnussen on 1m 37.060s.

    Hamilton again beat Rosberg on their first runs in Q3, with 1m 29.339s to 1m 29.606s, but then came sensation as the stewards decided that two wheels over the kerb at Copse was a track limits violation and docked the Englishman’s time. It all came down to the last runs.

    And Hamilton rose to the challenge, going faster still with 1m 29.287s as Rosberg’s response was a slower time, 1m 29.715s. The crowd were very happy.

    Verstappen again bettered Ricciardo, 1m 30.313s to 1m 30.618s – the Dutchman had a slower lap of 1m 30.925s deleted for a track limits violation in Copse – as Raikkonen took fifth with 1m 30.881s ahead of subdued partner Vettel, on 1m 31.490s. Bottas was seventh on 1m 31.557s, ahead of Hulkenberg on 1m 32.172s (a 1m 31.920s was deleted for running wide at Copse), Sainz on 1m 31.989s and Alonso on 1m 32.343s after the Spaniard had a lap of 1m 31.687s disallowed, again for exceeding track limits at Copse.

    Thus with penalties applied, the provisional grid lines up as follows: Hamilton, Rosberg; Verstappen, Ricciardo; Raikkonen Bottas; Hulkenberg, Sainz; Alonso, Perez; Vettel, Massa; Grosjean, Gutierrez; Kvyat, Magnussen; Button, Palmer; Haryanto,

  2. Ferrari Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel will serve a second successive five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change at the British Grand Prix.

    Vettel sustained a problem with the gearbox at the end of final practice at Silverstone, issuing a message over the radio in which he said: “OK, I think we failed the gearbox again.”

    Ferrari has changed the gearbox as a precaution, and is to investigate the matter next week, but it means Vettel will again drop five places for Sunday’s race.

    Prior to the Austrian Grand Prix a fortnight ago Ferrari had to change the gearbox on Friday as it discovered an issue it felt could have resulted in a failure.

    Although no problems were encountered during the previous European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, where Vettel finished second behind Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, an investigation of the car’s systems found a potential issue.

    Source: Autosport.com

  3. Championship leader Nico Rosberg under investigation for British Grand Prix qualifying rules breach. Autosport.com has the story.

    Nico Rosberg is under investigation by the Formula 1 stewards for an alleged breach of the sporting regulations during qualifying for the British Grand Prix.

    Rosberg and a Mercedes team representative have been summoned to see the stewards at 15.30 in relation to the breach of article 27.5.

    In this instance Rosberg is to answer to a charge of “exceeding the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car line after the pit exit and safety car line before the pit entry at 13.05”.

    Article 27.5 specifically states: “At no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person.

    “This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pitlane.

    “In order to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on in laps during and after the end of qualifying, or during reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the race, drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car line after the pit exit and safety car line before the pit entry.

    “The maximum time will be determined by the race director at each event after the first day of practice, but may be amended later in the event if deemed necessary.

    “The time will normally be based upon 145% of the best dry P1 or P2 time.”

    Rosberg qualified second for the race at Silverstone, finishing three tenths of a second behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

  4. This was a frustrating qualifying session for Jenson Button. The cause of the early exit? A loose wing. Autosport.com has the details.

    Jenson Button’s exit in the first part of Formula 1 qualifying for the British Grand Prix was the result of a loose rear wing that prevented him from running again.

    The McLaren driver watched on from the pits as he was bumped out of contention for a spot in Q2, having had his only run in the session compromised when his rear wing detached from the floor halfway round his flying lap.

    “The rear wing came detached from the floor coming out of Turn 8 [Woodcote],” Button said.

    “It just slowly deteriorated from there with the rear of the car – we lost a lot of downforce.

    “All the way through the high-speed corners I was telling the guys there was a lot of oversteer.

    “I’m surprised I did the time I did. We tried to fix it to go out again but we ran out of time.

    “We missed doing a run with the car in the shape it should have been.”

    Button almost got a reprieve when it appeared Kevin Magnussen could lose his place in Q2 as a result of a track limits infringement.

    But after the McLaren driver ran back to the pits a decision was not made on Magnussen’s lap in time to allow him to compete in the next stage of qualifying.

    “We weren’t confused, we were just waiting for information,” said Button.

    “Supposedly Kevin drove off the circuit – I haven’t seen it.

    “We thought he’d get his lap taken away.

    “It’s a shame they couldn’t do something before Q2 because as soon as Q2 starts it’s game over.

    “We were very unlucky to be 17th, and unlucky they didn’t make a decision on Kevin before the end of Q1.

    “That’s frustrating but the main issue for us was the rear wing wobbling around all over the place.”

    Team-mate Fernando Alonso, who will start ninth after making it through to Q3, said Button’s failure was another worrying sign of reliability problems for McLaren following ‘engine data issues’ that cost the Briton running on Friday.

    “I’ve been hurt by reliability issues in the last two races and now Jenson yesterday and today in qualifying,” said Alonso.

    “So yeah, we have a problem – we need to keep working not only on performance but the reliability side.

    “We need to make sure everything is good for tomorrow. We are more or less in the top 10 this weekend, so why not in the race?

    “We are in the middle of the fight and able to compete with the people around us.

    “We still need speed on the straight but here we can compensate with the long corners at Silverstone.

    “We just need to make sure reliability is OK.”

  5. Nico Rosberg has escaped punishment for driving too slowly during British Grand Prix qualifying following an investigation by the Formula 1 stewards.

    The Mercedes driver, who will start the race from the front row alongside polesitter Lewis Hamilton, was investigated for an alleged breach of article 27.5 of the sporting regulations, governing the speed a driver must maintain when on a reconnaissance lap or an in-lap.

    However, Rosberg was cleared by the stewards – including four-time British GP winner Nigel Mansell – who found that he was not in breach of the rule as he was not returning to the pits on the lap in question.

    As the slow lap was not an in-lap, it was therefore not governed by article 27.5.

    The rule states: “In order to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on in laps during and after the end of qualifying, or during reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the race, drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car line after the pit exit and safety car line before the pit entry.

    “The maximum time will be determined by the race director at each event after the first day of practice, but may be amended later in the event if deemed necessary.

    “The time will normally be based upon 145% of the best dry P1 or P2 time.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  6. 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen has commented that the the Ferrari team are ‘stuck’ by Silverstone conditions. Autosport.com has the full story.

    Kimi Raikkonen says the Ferrari Formula 1 team is “stuck” in windy conditions such as those of the British Grand Prix after being outpaced by Red Bull at Silverstone.

    Raikkonen qualified fifth on Saturday, but was half a second off the third-placed Red Bull of Max Verstappen and 1.5s behind polesitter Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

    “I kind of expected it to be a bit tricky here and that’s how it turned out to be,” said Raikkonen.

    “We don’t have enough speed. In the windy conditions, it’s just tricky for us.

    “My car was the best it’s been all weekend in qualifying but it’s still not easy.

    “We are a bit stuck with certain things.

    “With the set-up we have, we can change a lot but it will not help because there are certain issues where we struggle with the handling.

    “Is it the circuit or the conditions? It’s more the conditions.”

    Raikkonen believes Ferrari is struggling to get temperature into its tyres this weekend.

    “We need to get more downforce to bolt the car to the ground,” he said.

    “That will change the behaviour of tyres and many other things. But that’s much easier said than done.

    “When you come to these kinds of places, with windy conditions, it can make quite a bit of difference.”

    The Finn, who was re-signed by Ferrari for 2017 earlier this week, outqualified team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.6s but shrugged off the achievement.

    “Me being ahead of him gives nothing,” said Raikkonen.

    “If you’re one-two then fine, but we’re fifth and sixth.”

    Vettel will start 11th, having received a gearbox-change penalty for a second straight race and the third time in 2016.

    He said the Silverstone problem was a new one, but had occurred in practice on both Friday and Saturday.

    “This one here was unique, something new, something we haven’t suffered before,” Vettel said.

    “We had the same failure yesterday so we need to have a look.

    “I was going for the upshift and the gear didn’t go in. Fairly boring.

    “We didn’t have anything [like it] before so it might be something to do with the track-band, it happened at the same place here.

    “We took some precautions going to qualifying, we didn’t have anything in qualifying and didn’t see anything on Kimi’s car.”

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