Home pole for Hamilton as Williams beat Ferrari

2015 British Grand Prix qualifying

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Lewis Hamilton claimed his eighth pole position of 2015 and his third for his home grand prix at Silverstone.

Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid and behind them the two Williams cars relegated Ferrari to the row three.

Q1

The Ferrari drivers felt they had to use a set of the medium tyres in order to make it through into the second part of qualifying. Raikkonen headed the times after switching to the softer compound.

However both Mercedes drivers easily made it through using just the hard tyres, as did the Red Bull pair and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.

Having looked quick in final practice, Max Verstappen hit trouble early in qualifying with a spin at Village corner. The Toro Rosso driver needed another run to secure his passage to Q2.

But the corner which caused the most problems for drivers was Copse, where they had been warned their lap times would be deleted if they ran wide. Many drivers did so, and as a result several of them had to do extra laps to post a time that would stand.

The Manor drivers dropped out as usual – with Roberto Merhi lagging a long way off Will Stevens as he has done all weekend. They were accompanied by the two McLaren drivers and Felipe Nasr, the latter just 11 hundredths of a second slower than Pastor Maldonado.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

16Felipe NasrSauber-Ferrari1’34.888
17Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1’34.959
18Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Honda1’35.204
19Will StevensManor-Ferrari1’37.364
20Roberto MerhiManor-Ferrari1’39.377

Q2

Hamilton had to abandon his first effort at a time in Q2 after locking his front-right wheel at Village. He did another lap on the same set and made it through, although he will have to start the race on that set of tyres.

He was also unable to match the pace set by his team mate, who lapped in 1’32.737 to head the second phase of qualifying.

Copse continued to catch drivers out, including Maldonado who had a time deleted as he had in Q1. This time he was unable to make it into the next phase, and Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean was also eliminated as he struggled with his car’s handling.

Raikkonen also lost one of his lap and that put him under some pressure. The Ferrari driver had begun his run late in the session and he now had just one chance left to get into Q3, but his final effort was comfortably quick enough.

Perez was another driver who had a lap time deleted, though it made no difference to his eventual finishing position of eleventh.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’34.268
12Romain GrosjeanLotus-Mercedes1’34.289
13Max VerstappenToro Rosso-Renault1’34.502
14Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Mercedes1’34.511
15Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1’34.868

Q3

Hamilton’s first lap in Q3 was superbly committed: despite a puff of smoke from his right-front brake at Club, he stopped the clock at 1’32.248. Rosberg, running behind him, was a little more than a tenth of a second off after their first runs.

Last year Hamilton had made the mistake of backing off too soon on his final effort in Q3, letting Rosberg in to take pole position from him. He was in a similar position this year: two sectors in it was clear no improvement was coming, so he backed off and headed for the pits.

But this time Rosberg wasn’t able to capitalise. “Very strange,” he reported on the radio, “no grip on the left-front”. Hamilton duly claimed his third British Grand Prix pole position.

Behind them the two Williams drivers kept the Ferrari pair from the second row. A displeased Sebastian Vettel blamed Felipe Massa for holding him up on his out-lap as they came onto the Hangar straight, disrupting his tyre preparation.

Daniil Kvyat secured seventh place on the grid but team mate Daniel Ricciardo could only manage tenth after becoming the latest driver to fall foul of the track limits. The pair were separated by Carlos Sainz Jnr and Nico Hulkenberg.

Top ten in Q3

1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’32.248
2Nico RosbergMercedes1’32.361
3Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’33.085
4Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’33.149
5Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’33.379
6Sebastian VettelFerrari1’33.547
7Daniil KvyatRed Bull-Renault1’33.636
8Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso-Renault1’33.649
9Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’33.673
10Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’33.943

2015 British Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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91 comments on “Home pole for Hamilton as Williams beat Ferrari”

  1. Really looking forward to a revised qualifying format. I couldn’t believe my eyes in the roundup reading that everyone supported the current one. It’s by far the worst we ever had.

    1. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
      4th July 2015, 14:14

      It’s one of the few good things in modern F1.

      1. Andy (@andybantam)
        4th July 2015, 14:22

        Totally agree

        1. Yep . If there is one thing in F1 today that does not require any change, it is the qualifying format. I found this format most exciting and reasonable. I have to admit, I usually look forward to the Qualifying now a days more than the race. The 90 minutes of qualifying is found to be best of the entire Race weekend !!!! Please don’t change this.

    2. @dh1996 I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the current qualifying format. What’s not to like about seeing cars flat-out in low-fuel trim?

      If the sessions themselves haven’t been that exciting recently, I think that’s largely down to the fact we have such a small and uncompetitive field at the moment.

      How would you improve it?

      1. What’s not to like about seeing cars flat-out in low-fuel trim?

        Oh, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

        How would you improve it?

        I’ve mentioned this a few times before: Returning to the Friday/Saturday 12-lap format would be fantastic. Since we’re probably never getting that back, I wish they just got rid of the three segments and just run for an hour straight.

        I may be in the minority here but for me, F1 is about who wins the race, who wins the championship. It’s always nice to see an underdog get into a unexpected position but in the end, I don’t really care about who comes 11th or 12th. So (again, that is just me) Q1 and Q2 are somewhat pointless unless something unexpected happens, which is rarely the case. Even the single lap qualifying format was better in this respect.

        And since I’m already not making friends here: I’d like to see points for Pole Position ;)

        1. There will be development on track, so only last laps will count. What’s the point of that? Reminds me of when they just ran around burning fuel because they had to qualify with fuel on board.

        2. @dh1996 The problem with having just a straightforward hour qualifying session is that you’re going to have half of that in most cases spent just watching an empty track because nobody wants to go and set a competitive lap time on a filthy track. It’s precisely why it was dropped in the first place.

          1. One hour session, 12 laps, new set of tyres every 15 mins. Sorted. Anything else?

        3. You wrote both of these:

          F1 is about who wins the race

          I’d like to see points for Pole Position

          So which one? First you say that quali doesn’t matter then you want points for pole?

      2. Q3 doesn’t work because everyone is doing their lap at the same time. Today’s director was all over the place. I feel lucky that I got to see half of Hamilton’s pole lap before he cut away to someone else’s lap. The rest of the coverage was so disjointed that I don’t feel like I saw much of anything.

        1. i fully agree Jonny Edwards the coverage by SKY is a right pain, they either swap to show us people in the garage in the middle of someone’s qualifying or a car being wheeled into the pits,
          time someone with a few brains was added to what we are watching because it seams to be getting worse lately.

      3. I also think the current qualifying format is brilliant. In fact, Qualifying in Austria was more interesting than a number of races have been so far this season!

        However, FP3 was one of the best sessions I’ve seen all year, taking into account Practice, Qualifying & Races. But yeah, a new format could be interesting, but this format is already good, so I don’t think it should be replaced.

    3. @dh1996 Couldn’t disagree more.

      The biggest problem with qualifying today is the lack of cars and competition. With 24 or 26 cars and without one team so far out in front, this three-stage knockout format can provide some thrilling sessions.

      There’s also the fact that there’s the potential for some major upsets and top drivers starting well down the grid if they make a mistake, which is something we never had during the old 60 minute, 12 lap format.

      This current qualifying format is just fine.

    4. @dh1996 In the current state of the sport, the fans are suffering from what is called as ‘grass-is-only-greener-on-the-other-side’ syndrome!

    5. Create your new F1 in the future if you can

      1. Look to the past… That is your future!

    6. I only watch qualifying these days, same with most casual fans I know. My dad watches the race start and then falls asleep, but for me qualifying IS the weekend since the races have been awful for a few years now (although 2014 was slightly better).

      1. Agreed. Q and the first lap… then it’s off to sleep. 30 years ago I never missed a race. It’s gotten seriously boring.

    7. I’m right there with you. Qualifying used to be my favourite thing now I can’t stand it. Q1 & 2 are so tedious it’s unreal. I usually find myself going into hibernation mode and then give myself a mental nudge for Q3.

      A single lap top 10 shootout would be a great idea. At least that way we get to see some full qualy laps.

    8. Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton says he would support a shake-up to the current Formula 1 weekend, whilst former world champion Sebastian Vettel is against the proposal.
      During a Strategy Group meeting on Wednesday, the idea of changing the race weekend format was floated, with the FIA confirming that “several exciting and innovative” ideas had been discussed.
      It was later revealed that amongst the change is a Saturday sprint race. Third practice would be scrapped and replaced by qualifying. That would decide the grid for the sprint race, which would then decide the grid for the grand prix on Sunday.
      Hamilton is in favour of mixing it up a little as he believes things can become stale, but reckons the drivers should be consulted on the matter before any final decision is made.
      “I would be very, very happy for the weekend to change,” said the Mercedes driver.
      “I’ve been here nine years – Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday always exactly the same, so I’d be happy for them to muddle it up to make it more exciting.
      “If the format is the same for the next seven years I don’t think I could take that!
      “It would be sensible for the people that have to make those decisions to sometimes consult the drivers.
      “It would be positive for them to ask us and I’d love to help in any way I can.”
      Vettel meanwhile believes tradition is more important and believes the sport has more important issues to resolve first.
      “I love racing, but I’m traditional on some things so I’m not in favour of it,” added the Ferrari driver.
      “A grand prix should be a grand prix. I know it’s only a qualifying race but it will take some of the spectacle from Sunday.
      “I think we have different issues to solve, rather than if we have a race on Saturday.”
      He then joked: “Maybe we should think about the real problems, like helmet designs!”
      http://www.grandprixtimes.com/news/display/10475
      I agree with Vettel.

      1. The only way I’d be in favour of a revision is if on Saturday they let just Rosberg and Hamilton race … and then on Sunday let everyone, except the Mercedes drivers, race. With the current state of F1 it’s the only way to inject some interest in the results IMO.

  2. Is this not the fastest lap ever at Silverstone in this layout?

    1. In 2010 pole time was 1:29.615

      1. The current layout came about in 2011.

        1. @daved What was different in 2010 and 2011 layouts except the placement of the finish line?

      1. Yeah, I think the Wikipedia page is wrong, I checked the previous years but must have missed 2013. The cars are still a long way off being their fastest, can’t wait for 2017.

  3. The qualifying was less about who sets the fastest time and more of who abuses the track limits and gets there times deleted.

    What a dud!

    1. And yet @neelv27, pal, some drives (and teams!) managed to not have a lap deleted, and thus weren’t having trouble with it (Williams’Smedley said he was quite proud of that, suggesting they made sure to!). Easy solution.

      1. That’s not the point @bosyber , the point is how did we get into this situation in the first place where cars don’t loose momentum by going off the track limits. Now we have astro-turfs that are grip-pier and flat kerbs!

        1. Oh, I agree on that @neelv27, FIA should have taken action before, but I think consistently penalizing drivers will work, going by how today turned out. … Of course, changing the tracks is better bc. FIA isn’t known for being consistent.

        2. @neelv27 Copse is a very fast high G corner. The run off is how it is so the cars can safely slow down if something goes wrong. Rather than dip into and tear astro turf, or dig into gravel and overturn. This way they can apply brakes and avoid an impact or worse.
          Abusing this safety zone is what the stewards mitigated against. If there’s no penalty and time to be gained the drivers will use it. That’s their job!

    2. @neelv27, Please stop watching F1. I wish someone would create a app for people like you to watch races with just the engine noise, without any info or commentary.

      It’s quite obvious the more info given to viewers like you, the more likely you are to find something to freakout about. You’re advocating for the drivers rights to create their own track or go off limits. Ironically, when we get to Monza you’ll complain about the paved runoff because drivers abuse it as a safety net.

      Perhaps stick to watching motogp where the suzuki’s and ducati’s are artificially hoisted up in qualifying with softer tires and electronics which makes the Sunday race artificially challenging for the Honda and Yamaha. I admit the racing is good, but its engineered. Try to rebute with DRS and I will point out that everyone has DRS on a F1 grid.

      Motogp and F1 racing are essentially the same where you have a single or two factory teams dominating. But it doesn’t get the same criticism as F1 because its audience is fed less info. Plus its two wheel racing, so it has the advantage of looking like the road version bikes and spectacular to watch even if the competition is one sided.

      1. Don’t forget, it gets less criticism not only because people are ‘fed less information’ but because the audience is a lot smaller, thus the media don’t get as many page hits when they write a negative headline about Moto GP as F1.

      2. Oh thank you – at last an informed fan!

        ‘Astro is grippier’ truly the most stupid comment I have seen lately! Clearly not from a racer!
        Regardless much as I love moto gp having raced 2 and 4 – please let’s not get a repeat of this nuts ‘tier’ racing just because some racers are better than others…

    3. How can people now complain about the penalties for abusing track limits. This confirms people are just moaning at anything now. If tomorrow is a classic it will not be acknowledged until 2027 when forum posters don the rose tinted glasses and loom at yesteryear. It’s the tyres, its the drs, its the engines, its the liveries……the penalties to day are brilliant otherwise they could just cut corners and make seconds like a playstation game if they have gravel in the run off areas the track is unsafe for bike racing but everyone loves bike racing so it is F1’s fault. F1 should change nothing just so all the internet moaners can stop watching. It is only a few people as everyone that is happy just keep quiet. We can only hear the moaners.

      1. +1 Same with the qualifying format.

    4. @neelv27
      A major part of F1 is seeing how much you can push the limits without going over them. Same applies to qualifying and the track limits.

      1. @david-a Well unfortunately some of you’ve have misunderstood my point (apart from some non-registered naive users). What I meant is that the exit of corners like Copse should be more challenging like it was before. It has been ruined by flat kerbs and an astroturf that does not punish the drivers. As a result, the drivers start to exploit the corners way beyond its limits.

        Instead it could be done the way Austria did it from 2014 to 2015 in order to curb drivers to go beyond limits.

        2014:

        http://s10.postimg.org/xqmrjuskp/2014.png

        https://www.racefans.net/2014/06/20/2014-austrian-grand-prix-friday-practice-analysis/

        2015:

        http://s24.postimg.org/dsny20jth/2015.png

        Of course the drivers have to push to the absolute maximum but you can’t make the corner exit so easy that drivers don’t fear the corner exits anymore.

  4. Graham (@guitargraham)
    4th July 2015, 14:21

    awesome job by the two Willams. take that Ferrari

    1. There is this common belief that Ferrari are the 2nd fastest car. Maybe that’s true overall a season as Williams are unbelievably bad at Monaco and performs rather badly in wet conditions. But that doesn’t mean Williams are actually slower than Ferrari most of the time. Actually it is quite possible the reason Ferrari stayed ahead of them as long as they did was down to the drivers. For example Ferrari was not really faster than RBR at Monaco too, but they performed better with getting a 2nd place. Last race, Williams were just as fast, maybe they should have been even faster. But Ferrari somehow managed to beat them except for their operational mistakes that cost them heavily.

      1. No way.
        Every single time a Ferrari driver has some kind of trouble on race day, they were faster enough to catch the Williams ahead. Bahrein, Spain and Austria were like this. Only Canada wasn’t cuz Kimi was really poor that day.

        Ferrari is starting to show the same problem they already have for years : their new parts don’t make them as faster as they should. And Silverstone being a power track it was expected that Williams would be closer, like in Canada and Austria.

  5. You really have to begin to ask what some people want to see. There are cars driving flat out on the limit, locking brakes, sliding all over the place and exceeding track limits, team mates pushing each other for hundreds of tenths of seconds – and yet some people say it is not enough????

    1. well said @kbdavies, and I hope FIA keep strict attention on track limits; teams will learn – some already made sure to not mess that up (Williams for one), and still go really fast.

    2. @kbdavies, your point is exactly why asking fans for input on anything is never a good idea. If you did a blind taste test of Pepsi and Coke, you’ll find that people will say they prefer Pepsi in the blind test…but will actually choose to drink Coke instead. The reverse is true where they choose Coke in the test, but choose to drink Pepsi.

      Gladwell on surveys and gaining consumer data:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIiAAhUeR6Y

      1. Segment beginning at 9:35 is really good. Applies very well to current F1 fans that just can’t be pleased.

      2. Thanks for this great vid. Last point also really addresses some purists’ and nostalgics’ way of looking at what good F1 should be.

    3. You really have to begin to ask what some people want to see.

      People want to see some semblance of competition. If this season was as competitive as 2011 or 2013 it would be an immense improvement.

    4. @kbdavies hear hear, well said!

      I’m enjoying F1 as much as I ever have (in 40 years) and this session had it all. To think that a change in wind direction was possibly all it took to swing it.

      Marvelous!

      1. Yet nothing much really happened because of wind direction change though? Because there is like no competition.

  6. There are a couple of places Vettel doesn’t go well as his usual self. Raikkonen made good use of this opportunity. Next race is another one. With this car which is said to be much suitable to his style, he should do a good job if he wants to retain his seat.

    1. Actually, Hungary is a place where Vettel has always been very fast. Even last year he was 2nd on the grid and almost 5 tenths faster than Ricciardo despite being out on track first in drying conditions.
      He’s been unlucky in the races there. Sandwiched in 2009, drive through in 2010, a mixed conditions race in 2011 (after dominating on Saturday), poor strategy in 2012 and 2013 and an unlucky Safety Car in 2014.

      1. Alonso got the same unlucky Safety Car and almost won that race.

        1. The safety car mostly affected the top three (Rosberg, Bottas & Vettel).

          1. Watch the race again. Rosberg, Bottas, Vettel AND Alonso too.

          2. @Edgar – Actually, you’re right on that one, Alonso lost time as well, and finished 2nd. Rosberg could only end up 4th in the Merc, Vettel had a spin which cost him a decent position, Bottas didn’t have the pace.

      2. Yeah, but I think he doesn’t really like it much. And Raikkonen has also been good at Hungary. That’s an opportunity for him. Like Bahrain, Spa, maybe Japan, they are both good at those tracks. He might be better at Spa, Vettel might be better at Japan, in Bahrain Raikkonen did a much better job in the race. Hungaroring is another one.

  7. Dat gap… @keithcollantine how do these qualifying times in terms of gaps between top team and the rest (and p1 to p10, for example) compare historically to ‘more interesting’ years?

    1. Like in 1988 German GP quali?

      Senna in a Mclaren Honda was 1,5s faster than the next non McLaren car…

      Can you imagine social media and these F1 fans at that time?

    2. You would need to go back to 80s probably…

  8. I am happy for Alonso today. He proved that his decision to leave Ferrari was right. No matter what people (including me) say about that McLaren in Bad shape fighting with the back-markers, it is lot better for him to do something new. That 5th and 6the spot on the grid seems to be reserved for “Scuderia Ferrari” They just can let go of it. I mean they are almost 1.3 seconds away from the Pole. If Red Bull had done a good job this year and McHonda has been a competitor, that Ferrari would not make it to Top 10 today. Alonso is right “Nothing has changed about Ferrari” . They are just here, there and everywhere except for the top step on the Podium.

    As they say “Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all “.

    At least Fernando can say he tried something (even if not successful) to win the World Championship than to have permanently reserved the Grid spot No 5 for himself.

    1. Year ago Alonso qualified 16th in Silverstone, today 17th. So there is more change for Ferrari than Alonso..

    2. Maybe you should have said 3-4 to be more believable. You sound a bit irrational like this.
      That 17th and 18th spot on the grid seems to be reserved for “McLaren Honda”. They just can’t let go of it. I mean they are almost 3 seconds away from the Pole. If Sauber had done a good job this year and Manor has been a competitor, that McLaren would not make it off the last row today.

      1. @peras If you notice in the first sentence I said People Including me are very critical about the state of McLaren today. They are fighting with manor who has the minimal resources. i have commented so many times at the sad state of McLaren. even if they are having a new engine partner their current state is not truly justified. But that is different from the perspective of a driver.

        1. For Alonso Moving from Ferrari to McLaren is definitely a step up because he would have been even more frustrated now. He might have probably quit F1.
        2. For Button Moving from Brawn GP / Mercedes to McLaren was a step down as he could have been in Lewis’s position today if had stuck with the team ( A What if But that is life). [ Secret of F1 trust Brawn any day compared to Ron Dennis ]
        3. For Vettel Moving from Red Bull to Ferrari is again a step up because he would have been even more frustrated at the sick RBR.
        4. For Massa Moving from Ferrari to Williams was sad thing but still a step Up because he is much more relaxed at Williams.
        5. For Bottas Moving from Williams to Ferrari is a Step Up because he is frustrated that he cannot prune his talent at Williams and Ferrari can be a better platform.

        1. I agree with those.

        2. @tmax I think Ferrari are also better off without Alonso’s Samurai way of driving and quotes :)

          Ferrari have been in the top3 in qualifying in all races but for Australia and today. But somehow you deem 5th place seems reserved for Ferrari?

          Maybe if Alonso was still driving the Ferrari he would be in 5th instead of the 3rd which the car is capable of.

          His McLaren move seems disastrous at this point and no amount of positive spin by his and McLaren PR team is going to negate that.

          1. exactly @evered7. Ferrari lines up 5/6 once and @tmax jumps all over it. Wait for race pace tomorrow and we’ll see about Alonso’s terrific decision (yet again).

          2. @evered7 I agree that ending the contract is mutually beneficially for both Ferrari and Alonso. No doubts about it. I am neither a Fan of Alonso nor his Samurai antics but we all have to admit that he is the best driver on the grid today. And some of his observations about Ferrari’s form pattern are on the mark. Please see my comment below on my thoughts on McLaren.

            @johanness I will be happiest person seeing that happen. I will easily raise my hands up and say I was wrong and as @keithcollantine suggested it might be a temporary dip for Ferrari. Let’s wait for tomorrow’s race.

          3. “..but we all have to admit that he is the best driver on the grid today.”
            Not really. No. lol

    3. @tmax The thought crossed my mind that Alonso might make that point if it was put to him, but I think it’s still too early for us to call it one way or another. McLaren look like they’re going to be stuck at the back for a while, and for all we know this is a temporary dip for Ferrari.

      1. @keithcollantine I agree to all your 3 points. Here’s my take.

        1) Alonso He would take that point for sure :) Anything that convinces him that his move was right is always welcome for him.

        2) McLaren Honda From McLaren’s perspective it has been a disappointment this year. As it stands today the teams credentials are as follows.
        1. They have decades of Legacy and experience in this sport.
        2. Honda is not new to this sport either. They quit F1 in 2008 which is not too far off.
        3. Honda have been active and winning in Indy Series consistently.
        4. They have the 2 most experienced and best drivers of the grid today. Both are WDCs too.
        5. They have Peter Prodromou whose last 4 cars have won WDC and WCC.
        6. They have good funding (No Sponsor Although)
        7. The best F1 facilities compared to any other F1 team.
        8. Eric Boullier is a well respected Team Principal.
        9. Ron Dennis is no slouch either. He knows how to run a team and the last man standing from the 80s in this Business. [ Discounting Todt and Bernie who are in different roles ] .
        10. They are a works team based out of heart of the Mecca of Formula 1.

        On paper this is a formula that can never fail probably. But in truth they are struggling and competing with Manor who can’t get close even one of the above credentials. Are we Panicking too early or are we seeing the obvious ? I don’t know the answer to the question but the truth remains that it is a situation of concern. I am sure Alonso is equally concerned too. I agree with you that probably it is too early to Panic. Lets give a 60 – 40 probability to the situation. 60% being McLaren Honda Improves in 2016 but only to play around the 2nd or 3rd row on the Grid. 40% being McLaren Honda magically improves in 2016 to dethrone Mercedes as the monopoly and fight constantly for wins. We are all pinning the hope on the 40% probability. I have not given up either.

        3) Ferrari As far as Ferrari is concerned they started the year well. The General pattern in the last few years show that they somehow seem to do a decent job (NOT extraordinary) in the winter and manage to put on a good show in the first round of the races before the circus returns to Europe. From there on it has been bit of a down hill curve. They have always struggled with the mid season updates. We had a lot of hopes on them since Canada. Honestly keeping the misfortunes of the drivers and the cars aside they have not come anywhere close to Mercedes. Maybe Mercedes also did a good Job. But that is what exactly this sport is about. “Out do” your competition. Just doing a good job in their own context will not cut it. They are consistently missing the podiums to the Williams and now they are starting to lose the qualifying grid positions to them. This is no encouraging sign either. Maybe I am looking at all of these from a pessimistic perspective. I hope I am wrong. But the pattern is again concerning. Maybe as you said it is just a temporary dip of form or is it part of the usual pattern ? Alonso has been saying exactly this they start well and then fizzle out through the season which frustrates him even more.

        The sad part is that the Works teams Viz Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren are all struggling and we know for a fact that it is almost impossible to win WCC not being a Works team and very difficult to win a WDC as a non-works team . Brawn GP being the exception. This create a massive gap in the whole grid in both qualifying and the race subsequently. Maybe Mercedes is doing an excellent job with great drivers on the top. It is still a matter of concern. IMHO There should be atleast one Works Team that should be challenging them for a win. At least One. !!!!

        Maybe I am speaking as if it is the Dooms day of F1…. NOT AT ALL !!! I still see a lot of silver lining up in the horizon. I will keep my hopes high and fingers crossed.

        1. 4. They have the 2 OF most experienced and best drivers of the grid today. Both are WDCs too.
          ” We are all pinning the hope on the 40% probability. I have not given up either.” No. Not really.
          ” Maybe Mercedes is doing an excellent job with great drivers on the top.” No. I don’t think so.

    4. If McLaren did this RedBull did that and a million other assumptions Ferrari might not be in the top 10 but then again if Merc did this Williams did that and Ferrari did something else Ferrari could be on pole. What a lot of assumptions from someone sounding a little bitter where Alonso is in a back of the grid minnow formally known as McLaren. BOTGMFKAM. Even if Button crashed for him to get a safety car he may struggle for 1 point as more than likely his car would fail. Alonso will soon have to admit he messed up.

      1. @mark I am neither a Fan of Alonso nor his Samurai antics but we all have to admit that he is the best driver on the grid today. And some of his observations about Ferrari’s form pattern are on the mark. Please see my comment above on my thoughts on McLaren.

        1. “..but we all have to admit that he is the best driver on the grid today.”
          Are you having other delusions? No one has to admit that Alonso is the best driver, because not everyone thinks he is the best driver. Who are you to tell everyone what they have to think? Maybe you can try to speak in more measured terms.

  9. and congrats to Lewis on passing Vettel to 3rd All time Pole Position wins.

    1. 3rd on the All Time Greats.

      Massive achievement indeed!

      1. All Time Greats of Pole Position. You wouldn’t like it if someone said Vettel was the 3rd on the All Time Greats because he is the youngest quadruple consecutive world champion, would you?

      2. ‘Massive’ achievement? I’d use something a tad less strong. His car is one second clear of the rest of the field. This is more a Sunday drive to stat-padding. These gifted years will hopefully end when competition ensues in 2017.

  10. Great quali by Carlos Sainz.

  11. Great job by Sainz and Hulkenberg again today. Perez was anonymous whilst Verstappen just moaned all session.

    Shaping up to be an intriguing race for third tomorrow. Six tenths separated Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India.

    I also hope that Rosberg can continue his form and challenge Hamilton for the race win.

  12. Whatever is wrong with Daniel Ricciardo? He seems to ave lost his mojo after Bercelona..

    1. I don’t think there is anything wrong with Ricciardo. He’s still doing a solid job. Kvyat seems to be finding his foot though.

    2. “Conspiracy Theory Alert” maybe Ricciardo is slow peddling so that he has a way out of his RBR Contract !!!! He learnt that trick from his last year’s team mate !!!!!

      1. Maybe that’s what Vettel did here too, just so he wouldn’t lose Raikkonen as his teammate. Maybe Massa somewhat got in the way of Vettel during out lap too, because he didn’t want to lose Bottas to Ferrari actually.

  13. Great job by Massa. Very impressed!

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