Page last updated at 10:08 GMT, Saturday, 9 July 2011 11:08 UK
By Sarah Holt
BBC Sport at Silverstone
British Grand Prix
Venue: Silverstone, Northamptonshire Date: 8, 9 & 10 July Coverage: Saturday: Qualifying 1210-1430 BBC One, 5 live, online. Sunday - race coverage 1210-1530 BBC One, 5 live, online. F1 forum 1540-1640 Red Button & online. Highlights 2000-2100 BBC Three
Vettel was ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso
Red Bull's world champion Sebastian Vettel set the pace in the final practice session before qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
A late flurry of fast laps saw Vettel edge out Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 0.063 seconds with Mark Webber third.
McLaren had a low-key session with Jenson Button sixth and Lewis Hamilton off the pace in 13th.
Vettel's performance was a fillip for Red Bull who have been embroiled in a row with rival teams over rule changes.
Murray Walker, who was a guest analyst on BBC Radio 5 Live, summed up: "Vettel is brilliant at this psychological warfare. He just came out at the last and blew everyone away."
Heavy rain had washed out much of Friday practice and the teams were desperate for a dry Saturday to make up for lost time.
But Vettel, who is targeting his eighth pole position of the season, kept his cool and moved to the top of the timesheets on his first run on soft tyres.
Last year's race winner Webber was less than half a second behind his Red Bull team-mate despite spending the best part of practice with a team of mechanics furiously working on the rear of his car.
Ferrari stuck with their aerodynamics updates, including a new rear wing, and looked strong with Alonso second and Massa fourth.
Hamilton persisted with the new low-drag rear wing on his McLaren while Button opted for the standard rear wing as the Englishmen strove to get into the groove before qualifying.
Button was more than 1.5secs off the pace while Hamilton was mired among the midfield runners.
Scotland's Paul di Resta tuned up for his first qualifying session on home soil with the 10th fastest time.
Michael Schumacher, a three-time winner at Silverstone, had his session interrupted because of a gearbox problem and finished in 11th.
His team-mate Rosberg had earlier been spotted with a few flames licking from the rear of his car in the pit lane but managed to set the eighth fastest time.
Pastor Maldonado set the fifth fastest time for Williams while both Saubers were also nestled inside the top 10.
While the 24 drivers battled it out on track, the bosses of the leading teams locked horns off track as a row over the use of engines ignited at Silverstone.
BBC online F1 editor Andrew Benson explained: "The row over so-called off-throttle blowing of diffusers took another twist on Saturday morning, and it has left Red Bull furious.
"Governing body the FIA's idea was to effectively ban this technology, with which teams blow exhaust gases over the rear floor of their cars even when the drivers are not pressing the accelerator, to smooth the airflow and improve downforce.
"On Friday, Red Bull's engine supplier Renault won a concession that allowed them to still blow at 50%, having argued that an earlier concession given to the Mercedes team put them at a disadvantage.
"That concession to Renault has now been withdrawn - in a directive issued by the FIA half an hour before practice.
"Red Bull team boss Christian Horner stormed off to see FIA race director Charlie Whiting following the ruling, and the dispute is expected to simmer throughout the weekend and probably beyond."
Qualifying provides the first chance to find out whether the see-sawing battle will have any real effect on the pecking order.
The feeling in the paddock is that McLaren and Mercedes could be badly affected and Button suggested that a loss of rear grip was a direct result of the rule change.
If the experts are right, then Vettel is again hot favourite to take pole at Silverstone.
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
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