Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dominated qualifying at Silverstone to claim his fifth British Grand Prix pole position.
The qualifying hour began in wet and drizzly conditions, but the session dried out as it progressed, leading to some incredibly fast times in the final segment.
Hamilton was on top after the first Q3 runs but found even more time to take a clear pole, with the quickest lap of the current Silverstone configuration – a 1:26.600.
He finished over half a second clear of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with Sebastian Vettel third fastest and Valtteri Bottas fourth – although he has a five-place grid drop for a gearbox change.
Max Verstappen improved late on but remained fifth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.
Stoffel Vandoorne outqualified his team-mate Fernando Alonso for the first time and was ninth fastest, with Grosjean completing the top 10.
The Frenchman however complained that he had been blocked by Hamilton, costing him a higher grid slot, though stewards cleared Hamilton shortly after the conclusion of the session.
Renault driver Jolyon Palmer just missed out on a spot in the final segment of qualifying, in front of his home crowd, after being squeezed into the drop zone by Perez.
Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz Jr. were 12th and 14th for Toro Rosso, the latter only setting a timed lap in the final minutes of the session.
Alonso finished between them, having set the pace in Q1 after a brave final lap on supersoft tyres – when everyone else was on intermediates.
However, the Spaniard will start the race from last due to a 30-place grid penalty. Felipe Massa completed the Q2 order in 15th.
A late lap on supersofts from Alonso pushed Lance Stroll into the Q1 drop zone in the final seconds, joining Kevin Magnussen and the Sauber duo of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo suffered a turbo failure mid-way through Q1, bringing out a brief red flag. He was quickest at the time, but conditions improved as the session progressed.
The Australian would have been set to drop to the back of the grid anyway due to a five-place gearbox change penalty, but tumbling lap times meant he ended the session 20th and last.
