F1 British Grand Prix:Hamilton claims home pole

Lewis Hamilton claimed his eighth pole position of the 2015 F1 season by topping the time-sheets at the British Grand Prix on Saturday, beating Nico Rosberg by over-a-tenth of a second in qualifying.

Hamilton set a benchmark of 1:32.248 around Silverstone on his first run, with Rosberg locking the provisional front-row for Mercedes. Neither of the drivers improved next time around, with the result that Hamilton secured his fourth home pole.

Felipe Massa jumped Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas on his final flyer to surge to third place, equalling his best starting position of the year. The two drivers were separated by just 0.064 seconds.

Kimi Raikkonen led the charge for Ferrari with fifth, as has been the case for majority of the weekend, with a time of 1:33.379. The Finn survived a scare in Q2 when his fastest time was deleted for not respecting track limits.

Another driver who fell foul of the new directive by FIA Technical Director Charlie Whiting was Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian driver will start tomorrow’s race from 10th on the grid, three spots behind his teammate Daniil Kvyat.

Toro Rosso looked genuinely competitive in practice and their pace continued in qualifying with Carlos Sainz posting the eighth fastest lap in qualifying, two hundredths of a second slower than that managed by the lead Red Bull driver. F1 rookie Max Verstappen, in stark contrast, complained about lack of grip on a car that has undergone significant changes since FP3.

Nico Hulkenberg will line up ninth on the grid for in the B-spec Force India, with Sergio Perez just missing out on the final qualifying shootout in 11th. Silverstone effectively serves as Force India’s home race, with their factory located alongside the track.

Neither of the Lotuses made it to Q3, while McLaren endured even worse fortunes, with both former F1 champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button eliminated in the first leg of qualifying.

F1 British Grand Prix: Qualifying Results (Top 10)

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m 32.248s
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m 32.361s
3. Felipe Massa (Williams-Mercedes) 1m 33.085s
4. Valtteri Bottas (Williams-Mercedes) 1m 33.149s
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1m 33.379s
6. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1m 33.547s
7. Daniil Kvyat Red (Bull-Renault) 1m 33.636s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso-Renault) 1m 33.649s
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) 1m 33.673s
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull-Renault) 1m 33.943s