Alonso Surprised to Grab Pole
Fernando Alonso has said he did not expect to be able to claim pole position for the British Grand Prix prior to qualifying
The Spaniard upstaged the time of pre-event favourite Kimi Raikkonen, who has had to take a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change, to claim his second consecutive pole position slot.
And speaking afterwards, Alonso claimed that the result was a surprise - even though the team had made some major progress with the set-up of the R25 on Friday night.
"It was really, really good, but a little bit unexpected," said Alonso of his performance. "The car felt much better than yesterday and the team did an incredible job last night with different changes and the car was quick this morning.
"I think we went into qualifying very confident, but not that confident to get pole position. It was obviously a great result for us."
Alonso's apparent speed advantage over front-row starter Jenson Button bodes well for his chances of grabbing the win in Sunday's race, especially with Raikkonen's misfortune.
"The race is very long and many things can happen," added Alonso. "Hopefully the track will stay dry and we can have a good race. I am confident.
"What happened to Kimi is not fair but we have to do our race and so far we have the pole."
Alonso Takes Dominant Pole in Silverstone
Schumacher Blames Tyre Pressure
How Ferrari’s Monaco headache became its Silverstone migraine
OPINION: Ferrari won the British Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz, but it ultimately cost Charles Leclerc a chance to make a bigger dent in Max Verstappen's title lead by leaving the Monegasque out on old tyres towards the end. Like Monaco, indecision over strategy proved to be the Scuderia's biggest issue - and if the team doesn't reflect, the headache can only intensify
The five factors behind Sainz winning a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston’s latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Why the future is bright for the British GP
It wasn’t so long ago the situation looked bleak at Silverstone with the future of the British Grand Prix under threat. But a transformation has seen it restored to one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar, with bigger and better to come
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1’s champion isn’t fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue