George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?
Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success
Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.
Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.
With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.
Watch out for Hamilton, Norris
Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.
Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.
Day to forget for Ferrari
Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.
Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.
Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.
British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.
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