Hello, MiniFans! We’re still on European soil, this time in a legendary track without whom F1 can’t be understood. Silverstone has welcomed us again with the same weather it usually offers: uncertainty over possible rain and sparce dropplets here and there to keep tension high and strategy teams on high alert.
First out in Q1 was Bortoleto, as his car needed reconstructing after his front suspension broke in FP3 and the team needed reassurance that the car had been properly repaired. Barely a couple of minutes in, a light drizzle was reported by drivers. It didn’t look like much, but the message still sent the pitlane into action, not letting the cars sit for too much longer just in case the track temperature fell and laps wouldn’t be as good. The midfielders dominated the timing tower until Verstappen made an appearance and pushed them out, his lap even surpassing that of Norris. The track improvement, as everyone was out not allowing the few drops to do anything to the surface’s temperature, was exceptionally clear in Alonso’s time, who managed to squeeze in between Verstappen and Norris, all while Piastri topped the sheets.
The gap in between stints was decorated by Colapinto spinning out while taking Club, the last corner, which took him to the barrier after being slowed by the gravel. He managed to get out and, at first, the only interruption was a brief yellow, but hthe session was soon red flagged as he had to stop the car right after Abbey, managing to leave it outside of the track to ease the recovery efforts. Once the session was restarted, more drops were falling, even if it still couldn’t quite be qualified as rain on their own. Nevertheless, drivers were starting to feel it, with slightly wavering confidence despite the obvious track evolution seen in Albon’s climb to third first and later Bearman’s as well. However, there were dark shadows over Hamilton and Sainz, in peril over the last few minutes bu managing to save themselves while condeming an unexpected Lawson after the team looked strong in the free practices. The eliminated drivers were Lawson (P16), Bortoleto (P17), Stroll (P18), Hulkenberg (P19) and Colapinto (P20).
With the looming theat of rain, teams with two sets of fresh softs led the charge. Verstappen set the first time to beat, which was matched to the thousandth by Piastri and then beaten by Norris. The three of them were clustered up within a tenth, opening up four tenths to Russell in fourth. Alonso followed them closely, but both Ferrari drivers, who had been achieving high results in the free practices, were in the elimination zone after the first stint was over, which they had done in used tyres.
The concern from Ferrari fans was quickly erased as they improved their lap times without a hitch, taking themselves to the top of the timing tower. Most of those who had gotten good times earlier didn’t need to set a quicker one, but the midfielders were battling until the very end, with Antonelli needing to fight until the checkered flag to lower his time enough to get a saving eigth, whereas a very surprising Gasly kicked the last hopes from Williams out. The image from the session came towards the end, when Ocon braked hard in order not to compromise a Red Bull’s corner, leaving an unusual sight on the track. The eliminated drivers in Q2 were Sainz (P11), Tsunoda (P12), Hadjar (P13), Albon (P14) and Ocon (P15).
The sun peeked through some clouds to welcome the fight for pole position, likely among two papaya coloured cars. The first battle turned on Piastri’s side, and a very motivated Hamilton managed to split the McLarens while the Australian asked the team to check his floor after using a bit too much kerb in Club. Leclerc, almost as if he had read what could happen in qualifying in a comment made during free practice, could only score a fifth place after his first try.
The second stint fully focused on the McLaren vs Hamilton fight, as no one wanted leave a millimetre of space to their rival. Kerbs were ridden, risks taken and throttle pedals pushed to the floor, trying to lose as little time as possible. The McLarens went first,with neither of them managing to do too much save for Norris climbing to second, whereas Hamilton’s meteoric start with a purple first sector wasn’t enough to do anything better than fourth. However, it wasn’t over as eyes turned to Verstappen, who managed to become an incredibly unexpected poleman in his rival team’s home GP, bringing back the “simply lovely” to the radio after an incredible lap.
Old school tracks offer motivation to drivers that newer ones don’t, as they’re wfere history of their sport was written. Silverstone is one of such tracks that allows for history makers to prove their worth, and today was that day for Verstappen. Despite a very discreet rest of the weekend, the Red Bull driver managed to link three pretty much perfect sectors to clock in a time that allowed him to push McLaren to the side in their home turf.
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2025 British GP
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