Could that have been more British. It was grey, miserable and damp - there was orderly queuing at the exit of pit lane and some good old fashioned British complaining afterwards. That doesn't even come close to describing the dynamism and unpredictability that dragged today's session up and above the tradition levels of English pessimism all provided by the conventionally changeable British weather.
While the news headlines will report no real change at the very front of the grid with Mercedes leading from the front, that doesn't even begin to illustrate the backwards grid qualifying has gifted us. Even after the flag fell on the end of Q1, tomorrow started to look rather entertaining.
Q1
It had been drizzling all morning, with FP3 a fairly inactive affair due to the amount of water on track. Most of that had dried up in time for qualifying, so the field had to head out on the intermediate tyres. It was evident that those tyres were struggling with the lack of surface water to cool the surface of the compound down. Raikkonen powersliding through Woodcote and running off the circuit, Felipe Massa also had a very sideways moment through Becketts - full opposite lock through the fastest section of the track is generally a suggestion that things aren't too easy.
The Mercedes lead looked to be on shaky ground when a spree of drivers made the riskier decision to replace the intermediates with slicks. Kobayashi went out first but had mechanical dramas and slowly crawled round on the outlap. Marussia however were making remarkable ground - both cars well inside the top ten while others waited for the smaller teams to dry the track. It was Marussia in the end, along with Lotus and Sauber to a lesser extent who had the last laugh as the session drew to a close. Conventionally leaving the garage late on a drying track last is a big advantage... doesn't work too well when the rain comes back with 50s remaining. Ferrari and Williams found themselves trapped in the relegation zone with no hope of finding more pace. Cars started spinning all over the place, mostly in Brooklands first it was Eriksson having his second off in the damp, then it was Alonso in the Ferrari. Finally Adrian Sutil managed to find the gravel near the barrier... yellow flags and a wet track meant it was game over. Only six cars out and the grid looked amazing already.
Q2
In a sense of deja vu we were faced with a damp track primed for the intermediates and the rainfall had stopped - but threatened to return. So this being Britain and all, the drivers left formed an orderly queue at the end of the pit lane - lead by Max Chilton. But it was inevitably the Mercedes pairing that delivered the opening times of the session and headed the charts. Vettel then took that lead away - then the FIA took that time away from the German. Because - like in Austria - the zero tolerance policy on track limits came into play both in Club and Copse corners. It doesn't make sense why we can have effective grass and astroturf deterrents in Maggots, Becketts and Stowe - but concrete in other places. Once again forcing the stewards into making these calls. Romain Grosjean and Jenson Button also had their times cancelled out for the same infraction.... no-one told the timing and graphics people this of course.
Just like in Q1 the time arrived to put on the slick tyres, so the times started to tumble. For a brief moment in this transitional phase Jules Bianchi was the fastest car on the track and Max Chilton wasn't too far behind - both Marussia's heading for Q3. Normal service resumed when Rosberg went fastest, while Hamilton was making more mistakes on his half of the garage - running wide in turn one across the puddled run-off area. It only delayed the Briton by a lap in his quest to usurp his team-mate from the top spot. As the track did get drier the two Marussia's did start to slip and lose ground to those around them - falling into the relegation zone. But in the final few laps of the session both cars found some pace... unfortunately Esteban Gutierrez made two Saubers in two sessions ruining an epic final battle by crashing the car in Luffield. Some drivers were able to make up some time, but it couldn't help either or Chilton or Bianchi into the top ten.
Q3
Had the rain finally left the session alone? It certainly seemed that way as the final phase of qualifying opened up. But Rosberg radioed in on his initial lap reporting more drizzle at the south end of the track in Stowe corner. Perez held an early lead from Kvyat before the main contenders completed their flying laps... which ultimately saw them go fastest. It seemed like it was game over very early on as the micro-shower that affected Stowe and Vale drifted North over the rest of the circuit. A damp track isn't going to allow anyone to improve their times.
Yet in the very final minutes of the session there was a flurry of activity, and when the armada of cars took to the track the grip levels appeared to be very low. There also appeared to be some odd goings on at Mercedes... again. Rosberg urging Hamilton to pick up the pace on the outlap and their little queue came very close to preventing Nico from starting his final lap. The collateral damage in this internal battle was Sergio Perez - who lost his chance to defend the third place he claimed in the first round. First and second sector times were several seconds off the pace - Hamilton's pole on home turf seemed safe.
Out of nowhere Hulkenberg took pole position - a collective expression of confusion spread across the whole nation...how... so much time recovered in the final sector. Vettel then replicated the feat, replacing the Force India at the top of the timesheets in provisional pole. Could Hamilton recover the top spot... well not really, it appears that the Lewis saw how poor the first two sectors were and gave up... when the final sector was so profitable. To add insult to injury Nico Rosberg kept the boot in and took yet another pole position, this one on his rival's home circuit. Britain did have some good news to be happy about - as Jenson Button claimed 3rd place for McLaren, especially poignant as the world of F1 remembers John Button.
The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners
With such a changeable and difficult session highlighting some brilliant performances throughout the field - very deserving of some bonus points as follows:
- 10pts: Jules Bianchi - 12th place... In a Marussia, and temporarily took the lead of Q2, brilliant
- 8pts: Max Chilton - He may only be here on sponsorship money but he delivered a strong performance today
- 6pts: Jenson Button - A British driver in a British team takes third in difficult conditions despite the McLaren not being all too quick
- 5pts: Nico Hulkenberg - The massive jump into provisional-pole took us all by surprise in the final phases of Q3
- 4pts: Nico Rosberg - Delivering yet another blow to Hamilton's title campaign here at Lewis' home race
- 3pts: Daniil Kvyat - Once again the Russian rookie well inside the top ten for Toro Rosso
- 2pts: Bottas/Massa - Two points apiece for their saves in Q1, both incidents could have easily ended up in the barrier.
- 1pt: Sergio Perez - Before the track dried up it looked like a second row start for the Mexican
The Penalty Points Championship
Not too much to report in the penalty points championship, but a couple of points to be added:
- Lewis Hamilton - Completely dropped the ball today, compromising Perez and almost Rosberg.
- Jason Plato - It may be a week out of date, but Jason overtly binned Alain Menu at Croft
- Silverstone - Why did you take away the grass and astroturf forcing the track limits policy to be implemented again
Looking to Tomorrow
There have been many a time when the big, fast flowing circuits like Silverstone, Suzuka and Spa have produced lacklustre and static racing. When the fastest car starts first, finishes first and everyone else follows suit... But you look at the vast diversity in the grid screams excitement. The two fastest cars in a straight line are starting a long way back at the bottom of the grid. If that wasn't enough behind them we have the two Ferraris. Even in the front half of the grid we have Hamilton out of position, like he was in Austria, so another powerful start is on the cards
The forecast suggests a dry race, but despite the calmer conditions there is plenty of intrigue to look out for tomorrow afternoon.
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