Alonso takes pole after weather delays qualifying
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso has taken pole position for the British Grand Prix in a weather interrupted qualifying session at Silverstone.
Alonso edged Australia’s Mark Webber by just 0.05s in the dying stages of Q3 to secure Ferrari’s first pole since the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix.
Webber had moved to the top of the order with just 30 seconds remaining, but could not counter Alonso’s subsequent lap with a final attempt of his own.
The fastest times in Q3 were set on intermediate tyres despite several drivers starting the final 10 minute period on the extreme wet rubber.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel will make up an all-German second row, while Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Pastor Maldonado, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean round out the top 10.
Grosjean did not run in Q3 after spinning into the gravel late in the second segment.
Q2 was interrupted by a 90 minute red flag period as rain intensified around Northamptonshire venue.
Alonso sat outside the top 10 at the time of the stoppage, but benefited from the improved track conditions when the resumption finally came.
Conversely, Sergio Perez and Nico Rosberg were first and third in the order respectively at the time of the red flag, but would both fail to progress.
Jenson Button had earlier been a major scalp in Q1 – the Briton aborting a lap that appeared set to see him into the next session when yellow flags appeared for a spun Timo Glock in the final sector.
See below for the full qualifying result
|
Pos |
Driver |
Team |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:46.515 | 1:56.921 | 1:51.746 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:47.276 | 1:55.898 | 1:51.793 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:46.571 | 1:55.799 | 1:52.020 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:46.279 | 1:56.931 | 1:52.199 |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:47.401 | 1:56.388 | 1:53.065 |
| 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:47.309 | 1:56.469 | 1:53.290 |
| 7 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:46.449 | 1:56.802 | 1:53.539 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:47.433 | 1:54.897 | 1:53.543 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:46.334 | 1:55.556 | 1:54.382 |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:47.043 | 1:56.388 | No time |
| 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:47.582 | 1:57.009 | |
| 12 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:46.649 | 1:57.071 | |
| 13 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:47.724 | 1:57.108 | |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:47.266 | 1:57.132 | |
| 15 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:47.105 | 1:57.426 | |
| 16 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:47.705 | 1:57.719 | |
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:46.494 | 1:57.895 | |
| 18 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:48.044 | ||
| 19 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:49.027 | ||
| 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:49.477 | ||
| 21 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:51.618 | ||
| 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:52.742 | ||
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:53.040 | ||
| 24 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:54.143 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s British Grand Prix Race Guide
