George Russell remembers, when growing up, that British drivers were always better in the rain, given their unfortunate experience of the conditions. In a rain-affected qualifying session, when both Red Bulls ran wide and into the gravel, the British drivers excelled; Russell leading his compatriots Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
It is the first time three British drivers have been at the front of the grid at their home grand prix since 1962, when Jim Clark was on pole from John Surtees and Innes Ireland.
All three of the present British crop will feel they have a genuine chance at victory on Sunday, with just 0.171sec separating the two Mercedes, while Norris abandoned his final lap due to a mistake at turn 14. “I can bring the fight to George and Lewis,” he promised.
Max Verstappen eventually qualified fourth, after running wide through the Copse gravel trap in a wet Q1 and causing “significant damage” to the floor of his Red Bull, which will be replaced overnight.
“I know that the top three, all of them want to win at home, and hopefully I can make it a bit more difficult,” Verstappen said. “The team did a great job trying to recover some of the bits . . . but it basically ruined our qualifying. To be P4 is probably a positive surprise.”
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That error came moments after Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s under-fire team-mate, had made the same mistake, having moved on to slick tyres, but he could not keep his car moving and ended up beached in the gravel causing a red flag to the session. He will start the race in 19th.
The Times understands that Liam Lawson, Red Bull’s reserve driver, will drive the RB20 in a promotional testing event at Silverstone next week. He will be limited to 200km of running, but with Pérez struggling to perform, could convince senior staff that he can provide a solution to their second driver issue.
By Q2, dry lines were emerging, and in the final part of qualifying, it was almost entirely dry, with the Mercedes surprisingly the quickest. It was expected that Norris and Verstappen would be the fastest cars and may yet have another battle like the one which tested their friendship during the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend.
Russell was understandably delighted with his third career pole position — his first at Silverstone — having also benefited from the collision between Norris and Verstappen in Austria to take victory.
“This is definitely one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a Saturday afternoon, the car was just insane,” Russell said. “In Q3 it really just came alive. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had driving this circuit and crossing the line, seeing my name P1. Seeing us both on the front row, we couldn’t have even dreamt of that after the first three or four races.”
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Progress has been rapid for Mercedes since their upgrades and having started the season off the pace, they are now genuine competitors for race victories. “Three Brits in the top three is incredible. It is incredibly satisfying,” Hamilton said. “I was cautious with my set-up, to try and have a nice balance in the race.”
Ferrari have struggled all weekend, trying to find the optimum set-up and analyse why their upgrades have not been particularly effective of late. Charles Leclerc was eliminated in the second part of qualifying and will start in 11th, while Carlos Sainz qualified seventh.
Logan Sargeant, who is at risk of losing his Williams seat mid-season if his results do not improve, managed a timely upturn to qualify 12th.
More rain is expected on Sunday, and that could turn the race into something of a lottery. On Wednesday, Hamilton said he would be doing a rain dance, and it appears his prayers have been answered.
