Mercedes have locked out the front row of the grid for the third time this year. Unlike the previous two occasions it’s Lewis Hamilton, not Nico Rosberg, who’s at the sharp end.
They now face 52 punishing laps of Silverstone which will reveal just how well they’ve got to grips with the tyre wear problems that plagued them earlier in the season.
Mercedes’ difficulties with tyre degradation was brutally exposed in Spain where they lined up first and second but finished sixth and twelfth. How will they fare at Silverstone, a circuit which is every bit as tough on tyres as the Circuit de Catalunya?
The start
Directly behind the Mercedes pair on the grid are the two Red Bulls, so except a combative start to the race. The Mercedes drivers have tended to get off the line well but have been vulnerable in the opening laps – recall how Sebastian Vettel attacked them in Spain and Bahrain.
After the flat-out blast through Abbey and Farm, the slow switchbacks of Village and The Loop which lead onto the Wellington Straight will give plenty of opportunities for position-swapping in the opening seconds of the race.
Fernando Alonso starts from tenth on the grid and will need one of his trademark brilliant starts to begin the process of getting on terms with title rival Vettel.
Silverstone’s lack of slow corners compared to many other circuits can make it a tricky circuit for overtaking. But as has become commonplace this year and extra DRS zone has been added. In addition to the one on the Wellington straight there is also one on the Hangar straight leading into Stowe.
Strategy
The medium and hard tyres are available this weekend and the drivers in the top ten will all start on the softer compound. Jenson Button, who lines up 11th, said he is pleased with the benefit of having a fresh set of tyres and being able to start from the cleaner side of the grid.
Alonso is expecting the race to be an “uphill struggle” as Ferrari seem not to have the pace this weekend.
Red Bull will be hoping Mercedes’ prior difficulties over a race stint will continue to dog them. Hamilton admitted he has concerns about their tyres: “We know that tomorrow is another day and our Sunday performance isn’t quite as strong right now.”
“Our long run pace looked OK yesterday and we were able to manage the tyres quite well. It’s going to be tough to keep Seb behind but we will give it everything we’ve got.”
Two of the most interesting storylines for the race are found on row three. Paul di Resta failed to get beyond Q1 in the last two races but clearly had excellent race pace in his Force India. He starts fifth tomorrow which will allows us to see what he can do when he has the springboard of a good qualifying position.
With the often slow-starting Mark Webber one place ahead of him, and the degradation-heavy Mercedes at the sharp end, a home podium for Di Resta is not out of the question. “Our tyre wear looks healthy and we?óÔé¼Ôäóve given ourselves a good opportunity to get in some clean air during the race,” he said.
Pirelli expect two or three pit stops to be the norm. Di Resta ran a canny single-stop race in Canada, and he has a good chance of being able to make one stop fewer than those in front of him.
Daniel Ricciardo has chosen an opportune moment to remind Red Bull what he is capable of by qualifying sixth, two days after Webber announced his impending retirement.
Here’s all the data from qualifying:
Qualifying times in full
| Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 (vs Q1) | Q3 (vs Q2) | |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’30.995 | 1’31.224 (+0.229) | 1’29.607 (-1.617) |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’31.355 | 1’31.028 (-0.327) | 1’30.059 (-0.969) |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1’31.559 | 1’30.990 (-0.569) | 1’30.211 (-0.779) |
| 4 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1’31.605 | 1’31.002 (-0.603) | 1’30.220 (-0.782) |
| 5 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 1’32.062 | 1’31.291 (-0.771) | 1’30.736 (-0.555) |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1’32.097 | 1’31.182 (-0.915) | 1’30.757 (-0.425) |
| 7 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1’32.002 | 1’31.097 (-0.905) | 1’30.908 (-0.189) |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1’31.466 | 1’31.530 (+0.064) | 1’30.955 (-0.575) |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 1’31.400 | 1’31.592 (+0.192) | 1’30.962 (-0.630) |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’32.266 | 1’31.387 (-0.879) | 1’30.979 (-0.408) |
| 11 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1’31.979 | 1’31.649 (-0.330) | |
| 12 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’32.241 | 1’31.779 (-0.462) | |
| 13 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1’32.105 | 1’31.785 (-0.320) | |
| 14 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 1’31.953 | 1’32.082 (+0.129) | |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1’32.168 | 1’32.211 (+0.043) | |
| 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 1’32.512 | 1’32.359 (-0.153) | |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1’32.664 | ||
| 18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 1’32.666 | ||
| 19 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 1’33.866 | ||
| 20 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1’34.108 | ||
| 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 1’35.481 | ||
| 22 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1’35.858 |
Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 28.537 (1) | 36.499 (1) | 24.571 (1) |
| Nico Rosberg | 28.684 (3) | 36.650 (2) | 24.650 (2) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 28.748 (5) | 36.697 (4) | 24.766 (3) |
| Mark Webber | 28.564 (2) | 36.689 (3) | 24.900 (5) |
| Paul di Resta | 28.705 (4) | 37.047 (8) | 24.984 (7) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 28.969 (9) | 36.831 (6) | 24.953 (6) |
| Adrian Sutil | 28.886 (8) | 37.100 (10) | 24.840 (4) |
| Romain Grosjean | 29.058 (10) | 36.806 (5) | 25.081 (12) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 28.845 (6) | 37.076 (9) | 24.993 (8) |
| Fernando Alonso | 28.859 (7) | 37.024 (7) | 25.052 (10) |
| Jenson Button | 29.094 (11) | 37.437 (11) | 25.033 (9) |
| Felipe Massa | 29.188 (14) | 37.456 (12) | 25.090 (13) |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | 29.123 (12) | 37.495 (13) | 25.106 (14) |
| Sergio Perez | 29.164 (13) | 37.515 (14) | 25.107 (15) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 29.368 (17) | 37.607 (15) | 25.070 (11) |
| Pastor Maldonado | 29.231 (15) | 37.811 (17) | 25.231 (16) |
| Valtteri Bottas | 29.352 (16) | 37.967 (18) | 25.267 (17) |
| Esteban Gutierrez | 29.552 (18) | 37.782 (16) | 25.314 (18) |
| Charles Pic | 29.743 (20) | 38.496 (19) | 25.609 (19) |
| Jules Bianchi | 29.721 (19) | 38.732 (20) | 25.655 (20) |
| Giedo van der Garde | 30.065 (22) | 39.281 (21) | 26.135 (21) |
| Max Chilton | 30.013 (21) | 39.661 (22) | 26.167 (22) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 311.8 (193.7) | |
| 2 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 310.2 (192.7) | -1.6 |
| 3 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 309.9 (192.6) | -1.9 |
| 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 308.8 (191.9) | -3.0 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 308.8 (191.9) | -3.0 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 308.6 (191.8) | -3.2 |
| 7 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 307.5 (191.1) | -4.3 |
| 8 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 307.5 (191.1) | -4.3 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 307.4 (191.0) | -4.4 |
| 10 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 307.3 (190.9) | -4.5 |
| 11 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 306.9 (190.7) | -4.9 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 306.4 (190.4) | -5.4 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 305.5 (189.8) | -6.3 |
| 14 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 305.2 (189.6) | -6.6 |
| 15 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 303.9 (188.8) | -7.9 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 303.9 (188.8) | -7.9 |
| 17 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 303.1 (188.3) | -8.7 |
| 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 303.1 (188.3) | -8.7 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 302.3 (187.8) | -9.5 |
| 20 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 302.1 (187.7) | -9.7 |
| 21 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 301.9 (187.6) | -9.9 |
| 22 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 299.9 (186.3) | -11.9 |
Over to you
Will it be a home win for Hamilton? And how well will Alonso be able to limit the damage from tenth on the grid?
Share your views on the British Grand Prix in the comments.
Update: After this article was published Paul di Resta was sent to back of grid as his car failed a weight check
2013 British Grand Prix
- Good rating for British GP despite tyre chaos
- Hamilton voted top driver of British Grand Prix
- 2013 British Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2013 British Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- Hembery: Pirelli “not trying to attack anybody”
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
29th June 2013, 18:35
Just read somewhere Di Restas car was underweight at scrutineering…
Roald (@roald)
29th June 2013, 18:45
Yes, picture: http://i.imgur.com/oyPOpuI.jpg
Roald (@roald)
29th June 2013, 19:54
He’s just been demoted to last place on the grid.
PhilEReid (@philereid)
29th June 2013, 18:47
Oh bother. That’s a real kick in the leg for Paul.
Aimal (@aimalkhan)
29th June 2013, 18:50
Oh wow He’s been having a lot of bad luck recently.
MNM101 (@mnm101)
29th June 2013, 18:56
These things happen, Hope there won’t be any team bashing from him tomorrow…
D (@f190)
29th June 2013, 19:02
Back of the grid ?
Rooney (@rojov123)
29th June 2013, 19:09
yup
BasCB (@bascb)
29th June 2013, 22:25
There goes that great podium opportunity for him.
F1abw (@f1abw)
29th June 2013, 18:36
Williams being that low in the speed trap is interesting seeing as they have been running the low drag boomerang wing this weekend.
liam (@)
29th June 2013, 18:36
Until Ferrari, RB and Lotus conduct there own test session. Hell knowing Ferrari if things keep going down and also Lotus, it’s possible. We heard it come from Horner’s mouth that RB were thinking it
Olivier42 (@olivier42)
29th June 2013, 18:40
You accidentally a word here ;)
tvm (@)
29th June 2013, 22:38
I what you did there
Shrieker (@shrieker)
30th June 2013, 0:28
c-c-c breaker !
lubhz (@lubhz)
29th June 2013, 18:41
what’s wrong with Massa’s driving, and his car? Faster on the speed trap but miserable on all sectors?
John H (@john-h)
29th June 2013, 19:32
My untrained brain is suggesting he should have had more wing on the car. I’m sure it’s not that simple though.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
29th June 2013, 21:30
His car looked absolutely evil. Massa was making sharp movements on his steering wheel all the time.
Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
29th June 2013, 18:43
Some seem to think the race is already decided (not you keith). Have some faith in the drivers on the grid. I’m sure the British Grand Prix of 2013 is going to give plenty of fireworks.
*Goes into corner and starts praying*
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
29th June 2013, 18:44
With lower temperatures, and some useful experience gained since Spain I don’t think Mercedes will drop off the pace as badly as they have previously. Vettel to win though,
@HoHum (@hohum)
30th June 2013, 0:21
Yep, a cool breeze and cloud cover would probably have them up front all race.
Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
29th June 2013, 18:45
Paul di Restas surely must be moved to the back of the grid.
“A Technical Report released by the FIA several hours after qualifying ended on Saturday evening confirmed that checks had found Di Resta’s car to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight required to comply with Article 4.1 of F1’s technical regulations.
The matter has now been referred to the stewards of the meeting at Silverstone for further consideration but Di Resta could be relegated to the back of Sunday’s grid should a penalty be imposed.”
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
29th June 2013, 19:10
Just about the worst thing that can happen to your weekend, really. Not only is he starting at the back, but he’s also wasted a full qualifying session’s worth of tyres.
He’s not had many good Saturdays this year…
Jason (@jason12)
30th June 2013, 1:47
Wow, almost 2kg’s below the limit.
That’s a lot.
MNM101 (@mnm101)
29th June 2013, 18:45
Di Resta’s car was found to be underweight
George (@george)
29th June 2013, 18:46
How did Hamilton find 1.6s from q2 to q1? That’s rediculous!
TMF (@)
29th June 2013, 19:10
He was on used options in Q2 and usually they don’t go to the maximum if they feel comfortable. See Vettel and his improvement even though he used new options for both sessions.
BasCB (@bascb)
29th June 2013, 22:27
As @tmf42 mentions, the change to new mediums, combined with track development and turning up the wick on the engine does that @george
Aimal (@aimalkhan)
29th June 2013, 18:47
I remember both Ferrari’s going out in Q2 in Valencia last year and Alonso went on to win that race. I am not saying he will win this one too.. but anything could happen.
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
29th June 2013, 18:57
But this time only one Ferrari went out in Q2 and other was in Q3
Aimal (@aimalkhan)
29th June 2013, 19:00
So its not as bad as Valencia then… :D
Aimal (@aimalkhan)
29th June 2013, 19:02
even better…:)
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
29th June 2013, 18:49
I expect the whole field to overtake each other midway through the Hangar straight, killing the joy completely.
2 DRS zones here too? how inoperant can FIA be?
PhilEReid (@philereid)
29th June 2013, 18:52
People shouldn’t be surprised by the 2 DRS zone decisions, I thought it was decided before the season that all races apart from Monaco and Susuka would have 2? I don’t support this decision, but it’s not really a surprise.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
29th June 2013, 20:09
@philereid given how FIA likes to change stuff midway through the season, they should’ve moved quickly and changed it.
Silverstone doesn’t need it.
PhilEReid (@philereid)
29th June 2013, 20:53
It’s a very fair point. Or just remove it all-together.
Kribana (@krichelle)
29th June 2013, 19:52
Absolutely, they should’ve put only 1 DRS ZONE, at the Wellington straight. Hangar straight is going to be very “overpowered”. Overtaking wasn’t hard in the past.. And with DRS, that’s going to be a HUGE FACTOR IN THE RACE… Should’ve been only at Wellington straight.
John H (@john-h)
29th June 2013, 20:15
It seems obvious doesn’t it. To everyone in the known universe except the FIA.
Even Paddy Lowe has come around to the idea of not having 2 DRS zones every race!
Guilherme (@guilherme)
29th June 2013, 21:34
@john-h Really? When did he say that? He was the most vocal supporter of two DRS zones in every track!
John H (@john-h)
29th June 2013, 23:04
@guilherme Just went to get the link for you and it appears he said two zones is too much for the 2011 Canadian GP, not 2013! I thought it was too good to be true :)
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
30th June 2013, 4:07
The 2 DRS zones problem came with the new ruling of Using DRS in DRS zones only.
After the New ruling Last year Mclaren’s Sam Micheal reported that with the New DRS rule every track must have two DRS zones. That Helped teams in Qualy but destroying the race and to add that we have Softer tires means in the DRS zones they can’t even fight.
MNM101 (@mnm101)
29th June 2013, 18:52
From Autosport:
bull mello (@bullmello)
29th June 2013, 19:02
Pit stops, 2 to 3 expected, should be an interesting race. I would think Merc will do 3 stops, maybe Red Bull too. Lotus would likely shoot for 2 stops, maybe Ferrari too. Might be the only chance Ferrari has to move up if their tires don’t grain too badly.
Still think Red Bull will win. Good podium chance for Ricciardo or Sutil now if Di Resta is penalized and has to move back for the start.
Hoping for a good race!
TMF (@)
29th June 2013, 19:04
I don’t think they’ll drop like a stone, it’s gonna be tough but if they can keep the RBRs behind for the first stint they got a fighting chance. But what do I know, yesterday I thought it’s gonna be Ferrari for the win ;)
mantresx (@mantresx)
29th June 2013, 19:12
Red Bull 1-3, Merc 2-4 that’s it.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
29th June 2013, 19:38
If the Mercedes drivers are one and two, the best strategy to keep the Red Bulls behind, at least in the first stint, would be for the second driver to remain in the DRS zones, so the Red Bulls can only attack them elsewhere. I highly doubt they will go for such a strategy, though.
Something about this year’s Mercedes and the way it uses its tyres continues to baffle me. How can they be so quick over one lap, but so comparatively slow on race pace? If they are quick to warm up their tyres, but also quick to degrade them, why are they so weak at the beginning of the race? As Keith wrote:
If they warm up their tyres so quickly, why don’t they storm away from the field in the opening lap (and why is Alonso so quick on the opening lap, if the Ferrari has problems warming up its tyres)? It can’t just be that they have to take it easier to preserve their tyres. In Bahrain Nico Rosberg said he knew after the third corner he would not be able to keep Vettel and Alonso behind.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
29th June 2013, 19:43
Alonso was, is and will always be astronomical off the line… I don’t know how he does it :O
HK (@me4me)
30th June 2013, 0:02
It’s a total different thing to be quick on 5kg of fuel or 150kg of fuel. Mercedes have long gears and high top speed, which they only are able to reach in qualifying and at the end of the race. Thereby they sacrifice a bit of acceleration. Redbull go the other way, they focus on quick accerleration and therefor have an advantage in the race with high fuel levels.
Jason (@jason12)
30th June 2013, 1:55
@adrianmorse
Great question….
We really need an expert to explain this, as heating up their tyres quickly totally inadequate as an explanation.
Then they would be flying at the beginning of the race, whilst other teams struggle to heat up their tyres.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
29th June 2013, 19:41
I think a lot depends on the start . If Nico can keep Seb off Lewis , then I think Lewis can have a chance for 2nd position . If vettel charges initially , then Lewis can try for a podium . A key player in the start is Webber . If he fights Seb off the line , that will be interesting . Instead , they can sandwich Nico into loosing the position . I think Seb will win unless he crashes or runs off :( .
hmmmm……. more importantly ,
I can’t wait for the start :D
Kribana (@krichelle)
29th June 2013, 19:57
Correct. Very good. But the DRS ZONES, particularly in Hangar Straight can be overpowered… Should have been one, I really don’t like races where they put DRS in areas that are too east to get a slipstream or tow to overtake… What’s next??? DRS in the front straight in Brazil??? We saw that in Canada that DRS made the overtaking too easy, particularly because of 1 detection point..
GT_Racer
29th June 2013, 20:23
That is actually where the 2nd DRS zone will be at Interlagos for this year.
Only races not to have 2 DRS zones will be Monaco & Suzuka.
quads
29th June 2013, 21:40
Tomorrow will show. I think they are going to be ahead as long as they can run multiple days testing, that other teams are not allowed, without punishment – And getting beneficial treatment by the tire supplier, that choose to provide the harder range of the rubber available to races that usually get softer compounds wont heart either.
D (@f190)
29th June 2013, 22:04
But they did get punished. And the test was nearly two months ago. I don’t understand your point. They have no special treatment from Pirelli at all, to suggest that is insane. The car has been good since day one and the tyres have NOT changed. You really need to read what’s happening before commenting as yourcomment makes you loom clueless.
quads
30th June 2013, 0:24
Let me clarify.
They have not been punished yet. They will get “punished” in a few weeks time, when all other teams get to test with current car (but not with the race drivers). Until then they will be benefiting from every testing km that they did post Barcelona, and that they (and only they) will have done in the current car and with the current race drivers.
“And the test was nearly two months ago.”
Are you suggesting that they and their drivers now have forgotten what they learned at that test?
Correct, tyres have NOT changed, but Pirelli have announced harder compounds for a few of the coming races, than what was used last season. That plays in the hands of the teams known to have problems making the tyres last (guess which teams those are!).
“You really need to read what’s happening before commenting as yourcomment makes you loom clueless.”
Ditto.
Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
30th June 2013, 1:47
You realise the car remained unchanged from the Barcelona Grand Prix apart from worn parts during the entire Pirelli run test?
Explain to me how much Mercedes learned during the 1000km they did on unknown experimental tyres, that they hadn’t already learnt from 3 Practice sessions, Qualifying and full race distance on two cars when they could change and alter the car as much as they wanted on tyres that they knew about.
People need to get their head around how limited the information learnt would have been. The car remained in the same spec and settings, they tyres were unknown, they had no control over how the test was run.
Really all they could have confidently learnt are what parts of the car did not wear out and break and what parts did. Interesting as they had already done a race distance, qualifying and three practice sessions with pretty much that same parts on two cars.
quads
30th June 2013, 10:22
“Explain to me how much Mercedes learned during…”
It is a perfect setup to find out exactly that. Barcelona is a twisty circuit, so is Silverstone. In Barcelona they qualified at front row, so did they in Silverstone. In Barcelona they were LAPPED during the race. In Silverstone they […].
Lets wait and see what happens at Silverstone to understand the extent of the advantage they and their drivers got from the exclusive testing. No need for guesswork.
“unknown experimental tyres”
Tyres maybe were unknown to you and me, but NOT for the relevant people.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/06/06/rosberg-was-aware-what-tyres-pirelli-were-testing/
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
29th June 2013, 21:42
I thought Alonso used hard tyres in Q3 – or did he have a second run on the mediums?
(The article states that the top 10 will ask start on the medium tyre.)
Jonny C (@loomx92)
29th June 2013, 22:23
Had a second run on Mediums
Veldaar (@veldaarf1)
30th June 2013, 8:50
This is going to be a bloody fight between Red Bull and Mercedes for the win. I hope it’s exciting! Pity that di Resta has to start last. It has ruined a solid double points finish for Force India. Can Alonso and Kimi pull off something magical? Fingers crossed!