LEWIS HAMILTON POLE FOR BRITISH GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton fastest in qualifying for the British Grand Prix – Photo: LAT
Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the British Grand Prix in tricky changing conditions during qualifying at Silverstone.
The stunning time of 1min26.600s in the final segment of qualifying (Q3) allowed the Mercedes driver to matched Jim Clark’s record of five British Grand Prix pole positions in the process.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will start alongside Hamilton on the front row, after being half a second off the pace. While Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will make up the second row.
A five grid spot penalty for replacing a gearbox relegates Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) back to tenth after qualifying fifth.
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was the standout performance of the session, qualifying sixth fastest, but will start from fifth with Bottas’ penalty.
Qualifying started out in wet and drizzly conditions, with cars taking to the track on intermediate tyres at the start of Q1. However by the end of the first segment of the session the track had start to dry allowing some drivers to gamble on running on slick tyres.
Fernando Alonso set the pace in Q1 – Photo: LAT
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso made the most of that opportunity to end Q1 with the fastest time, after a late switch to super soft tyres. However Alonso’s stunning lap would be all for nothing, he then failed to make it through Q2 as conditions improved and everyone else ran on slicks. He would also have 30 place grid penalty for replacing more power unit components, which all but guaranteed he would start back of the grid regardless.
Aussie Daniel Ricciardo will also start from the back of the grid after stopping on track during Q1 with what appeared to be turbo failure halting his progress during qualifying.
Formula 1 – British Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
| Position | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m26.600s | – |
| 2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m27.147s | 0.547s |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m27.356s | 0.756s |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1m28.130s | 1.530s |
| 5 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1m28.856s | 2.256s |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m28.902s | 2.302s |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 1m29.074s | 2.474s |
| 8 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 1m29.418s | 2.818s |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m29.549s | 2.949s |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1m27.376s | 0.776s |
| 11 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m30.193s | – |
| 12 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m30.355s | – |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 1m31.368s | – |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m31.482s | – |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 1m42.573s | – |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1m42.577s | – |
| 17 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m42.593s | – |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m42.633s | – |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m42.966s | – |
| 20 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m30.600s | – |
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