British GP final practice and qualifying

By: Geoff Creighton

Summary


	Bottas steals pole from Hamilton for British Grand Prix
	Leclerc third, Verstappen fourth
	Out in Q2: Giovinazzi, Raikkonen, Sainz, Grosjean, Perez
	Out in Q1: Magnussen, Kvyat, Stroll, Russell, Kubica

Status: Stopped

17:19 Here's the quali report, and we'll see you back here tomorrow for the race. See ya then!

British GP: Bottas beats Hamilton to Silverstone F1 pole by 0.006s

Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate to pole position for the British Grand Prix by six thousandths of a second

17:13

17:10

17:07 Leclerc: "I think in Q2 we were quite good, but in Q3 Mercedes turned up the engine a little bit. They were good in the corners, which we know we need to work on."

17:06 Hamilton: "Congratulations to Valtteri, he did a really solid job in qualifying. It wasn't quite good enough. It's the best grand prix of the year, and it's because of the energy these people bring."

17:04 Bottas: "It was really good, it reminds me of why we do this. It's been really close with Lewis all weekend, and I'm really happy to get a good lap in and get pole."

17:03 That's Bottas's fourth pole of the season, meaning he's got the most of anyone this season.

17:02 Bottas's radio: "So that's pole position Valtteri, well do..." "...YES!"

17:02 Q3 results: 1 Bottas, 2 Hamilton, 3 Leclerc, 4 Verstappen, 5 Gasly, 6 Vettel, 7 Ricciardo, 8 Norris, 9 Albon. 10 Hulkenberg.

17:01 Verstappen slots into fourth, just 0.183s off pole, while Gasly edges Vettel to fifth place.

17:01 A big "oooooh" emanates from the media centre as Hamilton misses out by just 0.006s! Those are some tight margins, but Bottas clinches it!

17:01 But the Monegasque can't quite pull it off, as he comes up 0.079s short.

17:00 Hamilton comes up 0.006s short! But Leclerc could still threaten here.

17:00 Chequered flag's out, Hamilton is faster than Bottas through S2 but down on provisional pole overall.

17:00 Vettel can't either - but Leclerc can, and considerably, too!

16:59 Neither Bottas, nor Hamilton improve on their earlier times in S1.

16:59 Bottas is now running ahead of Hamilton on track, as the pair begin their final flying laps.

16:57

16:57 Norris slots into eighth place, while Albon ends up 10th and last, albeit just half a tenth slower than his fellow rookie.

16:54 Norris and Albon pop onto the track for their runs, using the clear track by running in the gap.

16:54 Current order: 1 Bottas; 2 Hamilton +0.252s; 3 Verstappen, +0.390s; 4 Leclerc, +0.523s; 5 Gasly, +0.690s; 6 Vettel, +0.694s; 7 Ricciardo, +1.307s; 8 Hulkenberg, +1.624s; 9 Albon, no time; 10 Norris, no time.

16:53 But the first laps from the Ferraris are quite disappointing! Leclerc is fourth, while Vettel slots into sixth, 0.004s slower than Gasly.

16:52 Gasly moves up to third, but is seven tenths off the pace - and is quickly beaten by three tenths by Verstappen.

16:52 Hamilton went too deep into Brooklands, squirming just in front of the BRDC Clubhouse.

16:52 Ricciardo has edged Hulkenberg by three tenths in their respective opening efforts.

16:52 Bottas takes provisional pole with 1m25.093s, a quarter of a second quicker than Hamilton.

16:51 But Bottas takes a huge chunk out of Hamilton in the second sector, after the championship leader has a bit of a moment.

16:51 Hamilton is a few thousandths up on Bottas - and two tenths up on the Renaults - after the first sector.

16:51 Albon's come in immediately for new soft tyres, and it seems like he and Norris will do just the one run each.

16:50 Albon is first out on track on worn softs, followed by Hamilton and Bottas on fresher C3s.

16:48 Q3 is underway. 12 minutes to decide your pole-sitter - Leclerc? Bottas? Hamilton? Vettel? Albon?

16:48 Almost time for Q3 to begin. This could be interesting...

16:45 Leclerc will start tomorrow's race on softs, much like he did in Austria. He had good pace on the mediums, so this is a deliberate call from Ferrari.

16:43