Lewis Hamilton was once again the pacesetter as he claimed pole position by just over one-tenth of a second, forcing team-mate and nemesis Nico Rosberg into second position. The two drivers are the clear frontrunners in the race for the championships, but it was Hamilton who came out on top, recording his third pole at the Northamptonshire circuit.
Q1 saw another woeful outcome for the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, who both crashed out, finishing 17th and 18th respectively. The English team have accrued just four points in the opening eight races, far below the likes of much lower-profile outfits like Toro Rosso and Force India. Sauber’s Felipe Nasr was narrowly edged out by Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson, although the Brazilian has one the lion’s share of the points for the German company, including a super fifth-place finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Rosberg was starting to crank up the pressure in Q2, and it looked as though a first British Grand Prix pole position was a possibility. Kimi Raikkonen, fourth in the overall standings, and newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr qualified for the top-ten shootout at the expense of Sergio Perez and the quietly impressive Romain Grosjean, who has improved on his 14th place in last season’s Drivers’ Championship. 17-year-old sensation Max Verstappen also bowed out.
The Finnish competitor Valtteri Bottas briefly had his moment in the ¬¬sun, leading early on in Q3. However, after that point it became the Rosberg-Hamilton show, with the duo vying for top-dog status. The Briton has enjoyed the upper hand during his qualifying battles with Rosberg, and it proved to be the case again. Felipe Massa finished third, just ahead of team-mate Bottas, as Williams strengthen look to strengthen their grip on third-place, in large part due to Red Bull’s difficult season. Sebastian Vettel seems to be settling in fairly well at Ferrari, and is the only driver who can realistically catch the Mercedes pair. He qualified sixth, just behind Kimi Raikkonen. Despite Red Bull’s struggles, Daniil Kvyat is doing admirably, currently lying in 8th place in the standings. It is arguably his more experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who has flattered to deceive, despite outperforming his Russian team-mate on the majority of occasions. After coming third in the championship last year, many were tipping him to keep on putting pressure on Rosberg and Hamilton, but it hasn’t turned out that way. The Australian disappointed again today, occupying the lowest place in the shootout, with Kvyat coming seventh. Eighth and ninth position were taken up by Sainz Jr, who recorded one of his best qualifying performances in his rookie year of Formula One, and Nico Hulkenberg, who has excelled once again for the historically unfashionable and unsuccessful Force India outfit.
It is all shaping up to be a fascinating spectacle in the heat tomorrow.
Alex Bowmer
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