GreenBkk.com Ferrari F1 | British GP - Stopwatch shows signs of progress

British GP - Stopwatch shows signs of progress

Silverstone, 9 July - It has been another cold day at Silverstone, but at least the rain stayed away long enough for drivers to finally tackle the 5.891 kilometre track on slick tyres, during this morning’s final hour of free practice. However, in the afternoon, a very short shower towards the end of the first part of qualifying was then followed by heavier rain right at the end of Q3. By this time Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa had already done enough to ensure that the second row of the grid was all-red, as the Spaniard took his 150º Italia to third place and his Scuderia Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa was fourth.

As Fernando himself pointed out, it was not his best result of the year, as he was on the front row in second place in Canada. However, the gap to the pole position lap time is smaller than at any time this season and that is the most encouraging sign that months of hard work is finally paying off. The fast flowing nature of this circuit, built on a former airfield is not meant to suit the Prancing Horse, but clearly the updates introduced this weekend, on top of other steps seen in recent weeks have made a difference. For example, both the Spaniard and his Brazilian team-mate were delighted to find that, for the first time this season they had managed to get the Hard compound Pirelli tyres work to their liking.

However, the Red Bulls still have the edge as proved by the fact they are both on the front row, even if for the first time in three years at this Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel is not on pole. The reigning world champion had to make do with second place, behind team-mate Mark Webber. The British crowd have to look to row 3 to find their first British driver – in fact there are two of them there, as Jenson Button is fifth quickest for McLaren, while Paul di Resta recorded his best ever F1 qualifying performance to record the sixth best time for Force India.

Tomorrow’s race is a step into the unknown for a variety of reasons: to start with, teams have little dry weather data on which to base their tyre strategies, secondly although the forecast is for dry weather, it is likely to be what the English like to call “unsettled” and thirdly, there are new rules regarding the use of exhaust gases to create downforce that have not yet been used in a race. These unknowns aside, Fernando and Felipe are definitely well placed to make the most of any opportunity or the slightest slip up from the championship leaders, so it should be a fascinating 52 laps to bring the first half of this thrilling 2011 season to a close.

Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)