British GP 2015

JULY 4, 2015

Qualifying Report - Hamilton takes pole

Lewis Hamilton, British GP 2015
© Active Pictures

 

The ambient temperature five minutes before the start of the session was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Centigrade). The humidity was 57 percent.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Qualifying 1

Stevens and Merhi were the first out for the 20 minute Q1.

4 minutes into the session, Hamilton set the first fast time ‘‚    ‚  ‚ 1:34.009. Rosberg beat that with a 1:33.654. Hamilton's next fast lap was a 1:33.796.

9 minutes into the session, Button was in 15th place and on the bubble for making the cut to get into Q2.

With 5 minutes remaining in the session, Verstappen had yet to record a time as the laps he had done had not counted because he had put four wheels off the track at Turn 9/Copse Corner. But Verstappen made it up to 12th place.

In the final seconds Nasr jumped from 18th to 14th only to get pushed to 16th. Meanwhile Raikkonen took the lead with a time of 1:33.426.

The top 10 were: Raikkonen, Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Perez, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Massa and Hulkenberg.

Out were: Nasr, Alonso, Button, Stevens and Merhi.

Qualifying 2

Bottas took to the track first in the 15-minute Q2 session. He clocked a 1:33.273.

With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Rosberg went ahead with a 1:32.737.

With 6 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton clocked a 1:33.068.

Both Ferrari drivers were out of the top 10 with 4 minutes to go. But Vettel got up to fourth, which became fifth, while Raikkonen lost his time by going off at Turn 9. With seconds to spare, Raikkonen made the cut.

The top 10 at the end of Q2 were: Rosberg, Bottas, Hamilton, Kvyat, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Massa, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Sainz.

The five drivers eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Perez, Grosjean, Verstappen, Maldonado and Ericsson.

Qualifying 3

First out in the 12-minute Q3 was Ricciardo.

With 6 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton set a time of 1:32.248. Bottas was second with a 1:33.149, but then Rosberg took over the spot with a 1:32.361.

Once the drivers had done their laps, the order was Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas, Massa, Raikkonen, Vettel, Kvyat, Sainz, Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.

With 3 minutes remaining in the session, the drivers started heading out for their last runs. Hamilton aborted his lap, but Rosberg couldn't go faster, so Hamilton held onto the pole with Rosberg second.

Massa sneaked by Bottas to take third. Raikkonen was fifth and Vettel sixth. Kvyat, Sainz, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.