2024 British Grand Prix: historic British top three as Russell pips Hamilton and Norris in Silverstone qualifying

The weather in the skies above Silverstone was once again the talk of the paddock ahead of the grid-determining F1 qualifying session.

Rain continued to fall from Friday afternoon, intensified to a cell of thunder and lightning overnight, and continued well into the early hours of Saturday, queueing up an intriguing second day of the 2024 British Grand Prix weekend.

Expectations were high ahead of F1 Qualifying, and the British drivers didn’t disappoint the home crowd, securing the first all-British top three since the 1968 South African Grand Prix.

F1

FP3

The drivers weren’t dissuaded by wet conditions at the start of the third and final practice session, with all 20 of them on track for the initial running.

Yuki Tsunoda set the early pace with a 1:47.080, but Pierre Gasly spun at Vale bringing out the red flags, to which the rest of the field lost six minutes of running.

On his way back into the pits, Daniel Ricciardo weaved to keep temperature in his tyres – an action which later earned him a reprimand.

Green lights were once again displayed with 45 minutes remaining on the clock and that signalled a flurry of quick laps as the track began to dry.  

In a short period, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Tsunoda and Max Verstappen all topped the timesheets with George Russell and Sergio Perez also threatening the fastest laps.

As the session reached its halfway point, it was Hamilton who was fastest on a 1:38.065 followed by Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, all of whom were separated by just under a second.  

Russell then took his turn to top the session for the first time, heading a Mercedes 1-2 separated by just three hundredths. Norris then slotted into third a tenth behind to make it a British 1-2-3.

The rain intensified with 20 minutes to go meaning there’d be no further lap time improvements, but drivers continued to circulate, gaining experience in anticipation of a wet race on Sunday.

Qualifying

Q1

Intermediates were the tyre of choice for much of the field at the start of Q1, but with a fast-drying track, it was only a matter of time before that critical slick tyre crossover threshold was reached.

The Mercedes drivers were the first of the front runners to record a time, and their statement of intent was justified, as Lewis went fastest with George’s time just four hundredths behind.

Verstappen quickly got up to speed and went two-tenths clear of the pair of them, but Norris was also on a charge and went second fastest just eight hundredths behind the Red Bull.

A retaliation lap from Mercedes meant they bested Verstappen’s time, again, mere hundredths separating Hamilton from Russell. Piastri slotted into third.

As one of the first drivers to brave the switch to slick tyres, each corner was a journey of discovery for Sergio Perez. Unfortunately, Copse would prove too treacherous for the Mexican whose session ended in the gravel, bringing out the red flags.

With cloud looming over the circuit, drivers sat at pit exit waiting for the session to resume, eager to set a lap on slicks in case the rain returned.  

After the first slick tyre laps, Piastri was fastest and Norris second with a superb lap from Hulkenberg placing him third.

In a moment reminiscent of his team-mate earlier in the session, Verstappen went wide at Copse and into the gravel. Although it didn’t put an end to his qualifying, Max sustained damage to the aerodynamic elements of his floor. A mistake that would prove costly as the session progressed.

With the track drying at a rapid rate, the order changed with each driver that crossed the line. In the end, it was Hamilton who was quickest with a 1:29.547 and team-mate Russell half a second back. Leclerc was third a further five-tenths behind.  

Q2

With the opening Q2 gambits completed, Norris topped the table ahead of Sainz and Piastri. But a lap from Fernando Alonso caught others unawares, and he jumped to the top of the order.

Piastri and Sainz then bettered the time of the Aston Martin, before another impressive lap from the Haas of Hulkenberg knocked the pair of them off the top spot.

The Mercedes drivers continued to show their pace and consistency as George headed the field once more, with Lewis four thousandths behind. As the chequered flag fell, Lando streaked clear of the field by two-tenths as Alonso and Piastri separated the Mercs.  

Q3

The very first sector of the first runs in Q3 set the tone for the 10 minutes that followed; Hamilton, Sainz, Piastri, Norris and Verstappen were all within a tenth of each other’s Sector 1 time.  

After the initial attempts, Russell was fastest but by a slim margin of six thousandths to Norris and then Hamilton. Piastri and Verstappen rounded out the top five.

Then, as qualifying reached its crescendo, eight-time British Grand Prix winner Hamilton went quickest by three-hundredths, but team-mate Russell denied him the pole by a solitary tenth of a second.

Having made a mistake at Village, Norris aborted his final lap and remained second while Verstappen and Piastri took fourth and fifth respectively.

RESULTS: Russell tops British 1-2-3 at Silverstone

F2 

Sprint Race

The F2 Sprint Race began behind the Safety Car to assess conditions. With the threat of more rain lurking on the horizon, the track was deemed safe to get racing underway.

Mercedes protégé Kimi Antonelli started from pole and held position ahead of Zane Maloney on the rolling start. Meanwhile, Jack Crawford, Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman went into battle for fourth through Village. A fight in which Bearman picked up front wing damage.

Later in the lap, Bortoleto went for a sensational move around the outside of Copse to snatch fourth from Crawford, while Bearman slipped behind Franco Colapinto and Dennis Hauger.

On Lap 4, the Safety Car was deployed which quickly turned into a red flag. As the drivers peeled into the pits, Antonelli retained his position ahead of Maloney, Invicta duo Kush Maini and Bortoleto with Crawford rounding out the top five.

The race got back underway with another rolling start which Antonelli duly aced. The action could be found further back where Bortoleto was applying intense pressure to Maini but was unable to make a move stick.

A pivotal moment in the title race unravelled on Lap 8, as Pepe Marti crashed into the back of a slowing Paul Aron on the Wellington Straight, while further round the lap Isack Hadjar also went off into the gravel at Copse. The top two in the standings now out of contention.

These incidents brought out another Safety Car, but on the restart, Antonelli was unphased once again.

On Lap 13, Bearman was the latest victim to be claimed by Copse’s gravel trap and fell out of contention. Not long after, he retired on the Hangar Straight with technical woes that brought out the Virtual Safety Car.

As the VSC was lifted, the race became time-limited and the Invictas resumed their lengthy battle with four minutes remaining. The fight raged until the final corner, at which Bortoleto overtook his team-mate round the outside, hopping over the exit kerb in the process. A move he’d later receive a penalty for.

Carving a path through the drama was Antonelli, who opened an 8.4-second gap to Maloney who finished second, and Maini who took third.

F3 

Sprint Race

Formula 3’s Sprint Race was initially scheduled to start at 09:20 but after several delays due to persistent rain, it was rescheduled for 18:00 local time.

In dry conditions, Noel Leon started from pole position on the reverse grid alongside home favourite Arvid Lindblad. A good start from Lindblad got him alongside into Abbey, and after going three-wide with Leon and Matias Zagazeta, he snatched the lead.

Although Zagazeta also got past pole-sitter Leon in the opening corners, the Mexican was patient, and regained the position into Maggotts.

Callum Voisin was on a mission for his first F3 points and duly dispatched Christian Mansell for fourth in the early stages.

Following a brief VSC period to recover a tyre carcass, Oliver Goethe and Max Esterson collided at Copse ending their races in the barrier and bringing out the Safety Car.

Lindblad maintained his composure to ace the restart, but there was trouble further back for compatriot and championship leader Luke Browning. Tim Tramnitz and Browning collided at The Loop taking the Brit out of the running.

The battle for sixth was also fast becoming an area of contention as Alex Dunne took the position from Charlie Wurz at Stowe, the latter running wide as a result of the move.

Dunne promptly gave up the position through fear of a penalty, and when he attempted a second pass, the pair collided at speed on the Wellington Straight. Wurz was out on the spot while Dunne headed back to the pits.

At the flag, Lindblad held a 6.3-second gap and became the first British FIA Formula 3 winner at Silverstone, ahead of Noel Leon and Matias Zagazeta who became the first Peruvian to stand on the F3 podium.