Championship leader Nico Rosberg scored his eighth career pole position with a crucial lap to deny his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in front of his home crowd at Silverstone.
The fans’ favourite will start the British Grand Prix in sixth position despite taking provisional pole on the first flying lap in Q3.
With rain coming and going throughout the qualifying hour, the first runs in Q3 were all affected to varying degrees by rain in the final sector, with Hamilton initially going fastest on slicks.
But conditions had dramatically improved by the final seconds of qualifying as drivers attempted their second runs and with Hamilton abandoning his lap after complaining that it was too slippery, he tumbled down the order late on as others improved.
Rosberg’s pole lap was 1.6 seconds quicker than second-placed Sebastian Vettel, who had not set a time on his first run after abandoning his lap because of the rain.
The four-time world champion produced the goods in the final moments of Q3 to take second position.
As for Jenson Button, the McLaren star took third fastest thanks to his late lap ahead of the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg. The Force India briefly taking top spot after being the first to improve on the second qualifying runs.
Kevin Magnussen, the last of the five drivers who did improve on their second runs, was fifth fastest ahead of Hamilton.
Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne had held positions third-to-seventh until moments before the end of Q3 thanks to their first run times, but dropped down the order as the other drivers completed their final laps.
Romain Grosjean was the fastest of those to drop out in Q2, ending up in P11.
And yet the biggest surprise in the middle segment of qualifying, which started in intermediate conditions before everyone switched to slicks, was Marussia.
Having both escaped Q1 after good performances in mixed conditions, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton produced the best qualifying performance for the team since it came into Formula 1 in 2010, finishing in P12 and P13 respectively.
Unfortunately for Chilton, he will drop five places on the starting grid following a gearbox change.
Esteban Gutierrez was P14 after losing his Sauber on the exit kerb at Brooklands corner and being spat onto the grass at the entry to Luffield and backing into the wall.
Behind him was Pastor Maldonado, who was forced to stop late in the session after suffering an engine problem.
Adrian Sutil was P16, making Q2 but being unable to participate as he had spun into the gravel.
Ferrari and Williams suffered Q1 disasters, with Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all being knocked out.
Q1 had started in intermediate conditions, but all four drivers were unable to put together good enough laps having switched to medium-compound Pirellis.
Bottas and Massa, who were among the latest drivers to take slick rubber, ended up P17 and P18 thanks to a combination of yellow flags and light rain returning late on.
Alonso was only P19 after losing the rear of his Ferrari on turn-in to Brooklands and having to take to the runoff area on what should have been his best lap.
His Scuderia team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was P20, ahead only of the Caterhams of Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi.
Neither Caterham driver set a time on the slicks, with Kobayashi suffering a car issue after a single lap on the medium compound while Ericsson suffering a couple of offs during the session.
So advantage point for Nico Rosberg. Pole position in front of his team-mate’s home crowd. Can Rosberg extend his lead in the championship with victory?
And what about Lewis Hamilton? Can he recover that disappointing drop to sixth to race through and challenge for the win? Sunday’s British Grand Prix is going to be thrilling.
Qualifying positions, Silverstone:
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m35.766s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.386s
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.200s
4. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.329s
5. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.417s
6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m39.232s
7. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m40.457s
8. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m40.608s
9. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m40.707s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m40.855s
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.496s
12. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m38.700s
13. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m44.018s
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari no time
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m45.318s
16. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m45.695s
17. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m45.935s
18. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m39.800s*
19. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m46.684s
20. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m49.421s
21. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m49.625s
22. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.912s**
107 per cent time: 1m47.406s
*Five-place penalty for gearbox change
**Ten-place grid penalty for unsafe release from the pits
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton admitted that it was his decision to abort the final lap in Q3. That choice made by the 2008 race winner cost him the chance of pole position at Silverstone. Autosport.com has the details.
Lewis Hamilton aborted his final run in qualifying for the British Grand Prix because he thought he would not improve given the track conditions.
The Briton qualified a disappointing sixth for his home race while Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg secured pole position with a last-second run with slick tyres as the track was drying up.
The third sector of both Rosberg’s and second-placed Sebastian Vettel’s lap proved crucial, as it was the part of the track where the slicks made the difference.
Hamilton had been slow in sector one and decided it was not worth pushing, so he aborted his lap.
Mercedes admitted that proved to be a mistake because he could have gained a lot of time in the final sector.
Rosberg grabbed pole after just making it in time to cross the finish line before the clock reached zero, the German asking his team on the radio to tell Hamilton to go quicker while they were running together.
“I knew I had chance of getting much quicker, and that is how it worked out,” said Rosberg. “It worked out perfectly.
“Even across the line. I was right in Lewis’ gearbox. I had to be there, otherwise it would have been red [lights at the start/finish line].
“I had to be fast as possible to do the last lap, as I crossed the line it went red instantly, so it was a very close call and it was a really good team effort.
“Everyone worked together. It’s fantastic to have such a qualifying where it goes well.”
Rosberg, leading the championship from his team-mate by 29 points, downplayed the psychological effect the qualifying result will have on the title battle.
“I have never talked about trying to get a psychological edge,” he said.
“At the moment the momentum is on my side and I have to make the most of it, and it comes and goes.
“I have a period where it is coming my way, but today is just qualifying.
“There are no points for qualifying and with the car we have everything is still possible but it is a big advantage to start first.”
McLaren’s Jenson Button admitted he took risks to qualify third at Silverstone. Autosport.com has the story.
Jenson Button says the lap that earned him third in qualifying for the British Grand Prix was the result of a “risky” approach from his McLaren Formula 1 team.
The Briton was one of several drivers to improve dramatically at the end of Q3 as the damp Silverstone circuit continued to dry after a mid-session shower.
Button briefly held second during the hectic end to qualifying before being bumped onto the second row, but he said the result was a reward for the team’s call to go out again on slicks.
“I felt I could read the conditions really well, and then it came to the last timed lap that meant everything,” he said.
“I said to everyone ‘I have wheelspin in a straight line’ and they said ‘push, [you] have nothing to lose and we have to take the risks to gain a position at the moment’.
“So I pushed. It was a very aggressive lap but it worked, so big thanks to the team for the call.
“Being third here in front of home crowd here really means a lot, I will go to bed very happy tonight.”
Button added it was a good response to the pre-weekend comments from returning McLaren CEO Ron Dennis, who had suggested the 2009 world champion needed to try harder.
“He [Dennis] is watching this I am sure. One result doesn’t mean anything, we have talked since and I think there is a mutual respect there.
“When we all want things to improve quicker than what they are, we maybe say things in the press that maybe we shouldn’t.”
Despite securing his best qualifying result since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Button admitted it would be difficult to translate that into a second podium of the season.
“We have to be realistic,” he said. “I want to be optimistic and positive about fighting for a podium [and] if it is like today with these conditions it is possible.
“But in a standard dry race it is very tricky.”
Biggest shock of the qualifying session at Silverstone was when both Ferraris were knocked out in Q1. Fernando Alonso says the Scuderia needs faster decisions. Autosport.com has the news story.
Fernando Alonso says his Ferrari Formula 1 team needs to improve its decision-making procedures in order to avoid situations like going out in Q1 during qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
Both the Spaniard and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen failed to reach Q2 after going out on slicks just before the rain hit Silverstone in the dying moment of the first qualifying segment.
With the duo not having set a competitive enough time before the rain came, both were knocked out, with Alonso 19th and Raikkonen 20th. It was the first time Alonso missed Q2 since the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix.
The double world champion admitted Ferrari needs to work on speeding up its communication process, having been in this situation before.
“We know there are two Williams and two Ferraris out of Q1, so there’s definitely something wrong compared to the other teams because when both cars are out in a session like this it’s because you were in the wrong moment with the wrong tyre,” said Alonso.
“That’s something we need to look at. It’s true that it has happened some other times, and we were saved many times by luck.
“We need to do better next time. I think the bigger teams have longer procedures than smaller teams, so we need to speed up some of the communications and some of the things that we do.”
While team-mate Raikkonen believed Ferrari was unlucky with the weather, claiming it did not risk anything by switching to slicks when it did, Alonso said the fault ultimately lay with the team.
“It’s something we need to improve, but at the same time it’s a very narrow line,” he added, before conceding he had banished thoughts of staying in the title fight this year.
“If the rain had come two minutes earlier these people would be in the wall now, and people would ask [them] ‘why do you put dry tyres while the track is still wet?'”
“But I agree that there were some cars on dry tyres today a couple of minutes before us doing green sectors and we were in the garage. So we need to improve that for next time.
“I think if anyone apart from Rosberg and Hamilton tells you that they believe they can be world champion this year they will lie. And I don’t like to lie.”
Well it was a mixed bag wasn’t it?
1st Ferrari and Williams completely missed the door for a good time and all their cars never made it to Q2. Not very good. At all.
Then we fast forward to Q3.
What seemed like a done deal 5 mins before then end Merc had the front two sown up with the Brit Lewis taking pole at his home race. It appeared we might even just see the timer run out with the cars in the garages as the rain increased. But a very brief brake saw the usual flurry.
And then we have to be honest the most bizarre decision I’ve seen for a long long time. Lewis on his final lap (who was indeed slower in the 1st two sections) with his rival and team-mate right behind racing for pole just gave up and drive into the pits. What he didn’t realise was the final sector was dry and everyone was posting great time. Rosberg recorded the best and took pole.
Now, granted Lewis was slower that whole lap than this current pole time and coming into the pits would normally be fine if you were the last driver and you still had pole. It would be wise if say it was sure to rain on race day and by coming in would save a little wear on the wet weather tyres.
Neither of those things were happening here. Lewis who has blown a Sunday pole and possible 1st place for the last two or three qualifying just gave up. WITH HIS RIVAL DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM!!!!!!! WTF you moron!!! Given he has said he wants to break Rosberg mental state, he ain’t doing shit about that.
ANY race driver learns it’s never over to you cross the line. You NEVER give up and certainly not on qualifying when all your doing is racing the clock. While it was very, very noble of him to not deliberately slow a touch to stop his only rival form posting good time, it’s still one of the most stupid decision he’s ever made. As mentioned many times on the BBC feed, people said they could predict when rain will fall.
However you can never predict when the track will dry up. As Nico Hulkenburg said, a spot of rain here meant you had no grip, but 5 cars later and the track was almost dry. I’m as speechless as Lewis was in his post qualifying interview. I just don’t see how he says he’s so hungry for more titles and he so wants to stick it to this team mate and then he does this. Absolutely beyond stupid and if I’m honest, a very bad example of how to be a race driver.
Anyway, it’s not the end for Lewis, we’re not even half way, but boy he’s making it very hard for himself. Nico will be laughing his ass of for the rest of the day and probably all of tomorrow.
I hope for a dry race as Silverstone is fantastic to watch as it’s so God damn fast. If, IF it’s damp/wet later on, Lewis has a chance of winning as I think he is clearly better in those conditions than Nico. Otherwise, he needs nothing less than second.
I’m really pleased for Jenson too. A nice 3rd, but alas he won’t stay there, along with Vettel. But that’s what wet weather does. Here’s to a great race and a clean start.
Thanks for the reply Invisiblekid. That qualifying session was indeed crazy and unpredictable thanks to the typical British weather. In fact it was the first wet qualifying of the season with a few shocks along the way in the space of an hour.
Both Ferrari and Williams dropped out in Q1. Fernando Alonso has admitted that the team needs to be better at making quick decisions. Not making that right call on using the correct tyre compound cost him and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen a chance in the race.
As for Williams, their Silverstone misfortune continued. In Friday’s practice session, Susie Wolff was given the chance to drive – the first female driver for over two decades – but her car broke down due to oil pressure issue… Felipe Massa, celebrating his 200th Grand Prix, had a big crash exiting Stowe.
And now with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa started at the back after a poor qualifying session, I feel really sorry for the British based team. After the highs of being on the front row in the previous race at Austria, it’s right at the back of the grid at Silverstone.
As for Lewis Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg battle, I was surprised that the home fan favourite ‘backed off’ after a slow first sector. His attitude of ‘never give up’ should have been applied here and instead of letting his team-mate pass, should have carried on and finished his lap.
Okay, Hamilton said the track conditions made it tricky to challenge for pole but he set the fastest time in more extreme wet conditions during the qualifying hour. That error of backing off has cost him a decent grid position but reading the social media comments addressed to Mercedes revealed the amount of displeasure from Hamilton fans claiming the team are biased towards Rosberg.
Credit to Nico Rosberg after recording his eighth career pole position. The expectations on his team-mate was huge thanks to the passionate home crowd and yet Nico focused on the job in hand and grabbed that all important grid position.
He has momentum on his side thanks to his recent wins and having an 29-point advantage (a race victory ahead) is a great comfort for Rosberg as the championship battle heats up.
After being so discontent with his lack of pace in the McLaren, it’s so nice to see Jenson Button qualified in third position. He was saying to both Sky Sports and the Beeb that he wanted his fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton to win the race and yet for him to be in front of Lewis means he has a chance of doing well in front of the home fans!
Must admit, it’s amusing to see a German front row at the British Grand Prix. With championship leader Nico Rosberg in number 1 spot with the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in second place. Fingers crossed Seb’s Red Bull is reliable so that he can score a decent result considering the amount of bad luck he received recently.
Sunday’s British Grand Prix is going to be fascinating. Silverstone is indeed a fantastic circuit with fast, flowing corners. It’s going to be an exciting to see how Alonso and Hamilton will fight their way up the grid. Bring it on.