Let’s find out who performed well and who underdelivered in mixed conditions at Silverstone.
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, Nyck de Vries, and Kevin Magnussen were the five slowest drivers. As the track dried up during a red flag period, everyone was able to set their fastest times at the end of the session, but Sergio Perez couldn’t go quick enough as he had yet another shocking Qualifying. Checo is lucky that Red Bull are miles ahead in the Constructors’ because otherwise, he’d be under serious threat of losing his seat. Yuki Tsunoda could only manage 17th in his Alpha Tauri whilst Zhou Guanyu will be massively disappointed with only P18. Nyck de Vries’ struggles continue as he was well off the pace again whilst Kevin Magnussen was slowest after his car broke down on the track which meant he wasn’t able to do a lap when the track was at its fastest. McLaren’s Lando Norris topped Q1 by over 2 tenths to Charles Leclerc!
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, and Valtteri Bottas all failed to make it into the top 10 shootout. Nico Hulkenberg did a good job to get his Haas up into 11th so he should be happy with that, but the same cannot be said for Lance Stroll who will be majorly disappointed to be out in Q2. Esteban Ocon will also be frustrated with only Qualifying 13th whilst Logan Sargeant will have mixed feelings regarding P14. Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to set a lap in Q2 due to a car issue so I think he should be happy with his day's work. Max Verstappen topped Q2 ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren!
Q3
In Qualifying 3; Max Verstappen set a really fast 1:26.720 to take his 5th Pole position in a row. I have to say, whilst we can talk about how quick the Red Bull is, Max Verstappen is the reason why Red Bull are dominating this year because he is so, so fast. McLaren’s Lando Norris will line up on the front row of the grid for his home race tomorrow in what was a quite sensational lap and behind him is his teammate Oscar Piastri who did just as good of a job as his much more experienced McLaren teammate. Charles Leclerc just about beat his teammate Carlos Sainz to P4 in a slightly frustrating day for Ferrari whilst George Russell out-qualified Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes just don’t quite have enough pace at the moment it would seem. Alex Albon was another star of Qualifying as he got his Williams into P8 whilst Fernando Alonso majorly undelivered in Q3 and he’ll start 9th as a result. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 in a solid showing.
Starting Grid for the 2023 British Grand Prix and my Qualifying Grades
Max Verstappen: 10
Lando Norris: 10
Oscar Piastri: 10
Charles Leclerc: 7
Carlos Sainz: 6
George Russell: 6
Lewis Hamilton: 5
Alex Albon: 10
Fernando Alonso: 4
Pierre Gasly: 6
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Lance Stroll: 3
Esteban Ocon: 3
Logan Sargeant: 5
Valtteri Bottas: 6
Sergio Perez: 1
Yuki Tsunoda: 2
Zhou Guanyu: 1
Nyck de Vries: 1
Kevin Magnussen: -
My Predictions for the 2023 British Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Carlos Sainz
Charles Leclerc
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
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