Lewis Hamilton was hit with a reprimand by the F1 stewards for turning up late to the drivers’ press conference on Thursday, so the Mercedes star will be checking his clocks work properly for the rest of the weekend to avoid any serious penalty.
The same can be said about Sergio Perez, who landed Red Bull with an £85 fine for driving 50.2mph in the pit lane – which has a strict 50mph speed limit. The initial penalty is highly unlikely to push Red Bull over the budget cap (well… you never know), but Perez will want to make sure he doesn’t break it again.
Qualifying for the British Grand Prix is set to start at 3pm BST and Max Verstappen is expected to secure pole position after dominating in practice. Mercedes were woeful on Friday, with George Russell sitting P12 and Hamilton P15 after FP2.
“It’s a tough car to drive. No matter what we do to set it up, it continues to be a tough car to drive,” Hamilton said. “On a single lap I didn’t feel any improvement between tyres, which shows something is wrong. We are missing something. The long run didn’t seem to be too bad, so that’s a positive at least.
“It didn’t feel particularly great [on the soft tyres]. The last part of my run felt more consistent for whatever reason. It could be wind, it could be balance or me getting used to the balance. This track is about trying to weigh the scales the whole way round and making compromises here and there. It’s such a fine edge the balance. It’s a good battle.”
20 mins ago23:00 Danny Gallagher
Goodnight one and all
Thanks for your company today on what has been a non-stop day of qualifying action.
The stage is set for major drama at Silverstone, and Express Sport will be live on the track to bring you every drop of live action.
Rejoin us bright and early on Sunday morning, see you then!
50 mins ago22:30 Danny Gallagher
Sainz threatens to scrap agreement
Things are getting bitter in the Ferrari camp after a frenetic day of qualifying.
Sainz is not happy, and the unrest very much poses the risk of spilling over into race day.
The Spaniard has claimed a “gentleman’s agreement” no longer exists as he was left annoyed after qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
Sainz jumped in front of Charles Leclerc in the dying stages of Q1 as drivers jostled for track position.
1 hour ago22:09 Danny Gallagher
Hamilton questions Verstappen
Hamilton has come out all guns blazing.
The Mercedes ace has called on F1 to address a big issue in the sport as Max Verstappen and Red Bull continue their dominance as the Dutchman is set for a third consecutive world title.
It could come across as jealousy, but Hamilton wants answers.
3 hours ago20:03 Mikael McKenzie
Leclerc demands answers
Charles Leclerc has demanded answers after Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz overtook him during qualifying.
“In the pitlane, it’s something that we were expecting as we’re always trying to get the cars out at the same time as it is better to manage,” Leclerc said.
“But then on track this is where we had a bit more of a discussion and at the end, we were very tight on timing and it was very difficult for us to know whether we were going to get passed or not before the chequered flag.
“Carlos decided to overtake, which is not ideal and we will discuss about it – but it had no influence so it is no big deal.
“Obviously with the adrenaline inside the car, you don’t know if you’re going to make it through, but his radio message was completely pointless.”
4 hours ago19:31 Mikael McKenzie
Bottas disqualified
Valtteri Bottas has been disqualified from British Grand Prix qualifying for not having enough fuel left to provide a sample after the session.
The FIA’s technical delegate Jo Bauer noted: “After the qualifying session today it was checked on car number 77, that a 1-litre fuel sample plus the amount of fuel that would have been consumed to drive back to the pits could be taken (technical regulations article 6.5.2). It was possible to take a 0.090 litre sample.
“As the amount of fuel needed to produce a 1-litre sample plus to return the car to the garage was calculated as 2.39 litre, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
Bottas stopped on track during Q1, reporting no power, and was set to progress to Q2 but he will no longer keep his classification.
5 hours ago18:35 Mikael McKenzie
Alonso calls for reset
Fernando Alonso has called on Aston Martin to hit the reset button during the upcoming summer break.
“Obviously, I’m never satisfied with between P9 and P12. I think it was not the strongest qualifying for the team so far but difficult to see where we can do a little bit better, Alonso said. “Maybe 0.1s, 0.15s. But more than P8 or something like that, it was impossible.
“We need to keep working, understanding, a few qualifying [sessions] already on circuits that we were not competitive.
“Barcelona, Austria and Silverstone – all three of them seem a little bit similar in a way in track characteristics. So, we need to understand that.”
5 hours ago18:04 Mikael McKenzie
Russell surprised
George Russell, who starts in P6, one place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, has expressed his shock at McLaren’s improvement.
“Exceptionally surprised by them [McLaren], they’ve done an amazing job,” Russell. “I’m not too sure where all of that pace has come from, even last weekend, and their race pace was fast.
“That’s going to be the interesting one tomorrow, because you often see teams peak on a Saturday and then go backwards on a Sunday. But I have a sneaky feeling that won’t necessarily be the case with McLaren.”
6 hours ago17:01 Mikael McKenzie
Hamilton unsure about race pace
Lewis Hamilton is not expecting to be battling at the front of the pack tomorrow after only being able to secure P7.
“I don’t know where our race pace is. Everyone was on different fuel loads but it didn’t look terrible. We have changed the car, so will have to see how it is tomorrow.
“But even if our race pace is good we have to overtake a bunch of cars which is not easy to do around here.”
7 hours ago16:27 Mikael McKenzie
Verstappen surprised
Max Verstappen is surprised to find two McLarens on the podium with him after qualifying.
“It’s been quite a crazy qualifying. It was quite hectic and slippery in some places. We did our laps and then Q3, I was quite surprised to see them two there,” he said.
“It’s great for McLaren to be here and very happy from our side to be on pole.
“Q1 and Q2 there were still a few damp spots. We pushed close to the limit but knowing we have a quick start we didn’t have to go 100% limit.
“That’s why in Q3 when you go for it that’s where we eeked out a little bit. I’m looking forward to tomorrow already.”
7 hours ago16:20 Mikael McKenzie
Norris on the front row
What a dramatic end to qualifying as McLaren secure P2 and P2!
Qualifying results;
1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Oscar Piastri
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Carlos Sainz
6. George Russell
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Alex Albon
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Pierre Gasly
8 hours ago15:11 Mikael McKenzie
British GP qualifying
Qualifying for the British Grand Prix has just got underway and Lewis Hamilton has avoided a scare in the opening minutes.
The Mercedes star went spinning off the track and almost hit the barriers.
Follow live updates here
9 hours ago14:29 Jonathan Spencer
Verstappen reveals future plans
Max Verstappen has revealed he wants to set up his own racing team when he eventually retires.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Verstappen said: “I could go now but while I’m enjoying it so much I won’t stop. But I am dreaming of having my own racing team outside F1 one day. I am really into sim racing. A lot of people don’t take it seriously, but I see a lot of potential in it.
“There are a lot of kids who start in go-karts but it becomes so expensive from then on. We will try to create another way in through sim racing, which costs a lot less, not necessarily to Formula One but to being an awesome GT driver or endurance driver.”
