Q2 – Hulkenberg stars, but Vettel struggles

Bottas made it two from two in 70th Anniversary GP qualifying, as he set the pace once again, though, interestingly it was super sub Hulkenberg who was second quickest, the Racing Point driver a staggering four tenths quicker than team mate and regular race driver Lance Stroll, son of the team’s owner.

Hamilton was only third, with nine of the top 10 setting their best laps on the medium. The outlier was Max Verstappen, who rolled the dice and ran the hards instead. Succeed and he would start the race on the most durable tyre, allowing him to run deeper into the race before fitting the fastest softer tyre, on lighter fuel.

Of course, he got the job done, with the ninth quickest time – but there was yet more misery for Sebastian Vettel as he failed to reach Q3 for the second time this year. That compared to missing Q3 just once last year.

The driver replacing him at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, also got the boot, as McLaren failed to reach Q3 with both cars for the first time this season. But perhaps that’s not a surprise – has he has only reached Q3 once in his as five attempts at Silverstone.

Ocon, Grosjean and Russell were the other drivers to fail to make it into Q3.

Knocked out: Ocon, Vettel, Sainz, Grosjean, Russell

Q3 – Bottas keeps his head to fend off Hamilton

Hamilton has had the better of Bottas in qualifying in the last three events, but the Finn was having none of it at Silverstone this time around. He found a rhythm early in the session and though he was second, 0.116s adrift, after the first runs in Q3, he made no mistake on his final run to snatch the prime starting spot for Sunday.

Ricciardo popped in a quick lap on his first run to sit third, ahead of Hulkenberg, with Verstappen fifth as the Red Bull driver was unhappy with his medium tyres. But that trio swapped positions after the final runs, with Hulkenberg coming out on top, edging out Verstappen, as Ricciardo slipped to fifth.

Albon was a strong sixth after the first runs, but he dropped to ninth, as Stroll, Leclerc and Gasly all improved, while Norris remained 10th and last of the runners throughout.

The key quote

“It feels good,” said pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. “I just love qualifying, especially when it goes well. It’s a nice feeling to get everything out of myself and out of the car. I think set-up wise we made good steps from last weekend, that’s why I think the qualifying performance for me was better than last weekend. Very pleased and, again, proud to drive this amazing car – it’s so quick.”

What’s next?

The 70th Anniversary Grand Prix kicks off at 1410 local time, which is 1110 UTC. Mercedes start on pole for the ninth consecutive race at Silverstone, and have their 67th front row lock out, extending records on both counts. Bottas has dropped back in the title race, but can he re-ignite his championship charge by converting pole position into a second victory of the season?