Hello, MiniFans! We’re in Silverstone, home of the first ever F1 GP and, as it is usual in British summer, it has welcomed us with rain pouring down from the sky. But, also as usual, a bit of water never deters F1 drivers and the twenty cars were ready for the fight.

Just a bit before Q1 was due to start, water started coming down onto the track and everyone went out as soon as possible. Intermediates were the popular choice, despite the spray being very thick and rain not stopping. However, it seemed to be the right one, as times were good and cars were sticking to the track.

Rain was giving a break to drivers, not accumulating more water, and once everyone was out, the spray became bearable in most parts of the track, and lap times reflected this. Bit by bit, the seconds were being chipped off and no one left the track, perfectly knowing the best time would be the last one. Most of the drivers who didn’t make it through were mostly expected, but the big surprise came courtesy of Williams, as it was Albon and not Latifi who got dropped. The eliminated drivers in Q1 were Albon (P16), Magnussen (P17), Vettel (P18), Schumacher (P19) and Stroll (P20)

Light rain made its way to the track for Q2, but nothing too heavy that would warrant drivers to change to full wet tyres and mostly being an annoyance in terms of visibility. The story repeated from Q1, where everyone stayed on track and times kept on lowering down to the moment when the timing tower went down to zero. The eliminated drivers in Q2 were Gasly (P11), Bottas (P12), Tsunoda (P13), Ricciardo (P14) and Ocon (P15)

Mistakes started to be apparent in Q3, where drivers were finally giving everything without keeping anything for themselves, but it wasn’t clear who would get pole position at the end of the session. The rain came back for the last minutes of the session and the fight was on.

The first one to cross the finish like was Sainz, who managed to score provisional pole position as rain started pouring down. His teammate, Leclerc, and neither Red Bull were able to get a faster lap than the Spaniard from Ferrari, who scored his first pole position in Formula 1 of his career.

Silverstone is a track of many firsts, and this time it was down to Carlos Sainz, who managed to get his first pole position in a rain soaked track. It only remains to see whether he will be able to keep his momentum and if the smooth operator will keep his first place and also score his first win in a track that has hosted many incredible moments of the F1 World Championship.