How British GP qualifying unfolded

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Felipe Massa's third place on the grid is Williams' best qualifying performance at Silverstone since Juan-Pablo Montoya took pole in 2002.

That race in 2002 was also the last time both Williams made the top four of the British GP grid, with Ralf Schumacher on row two.

Max Baggins-Craig: Real shame for Button & McLaren, it's goin to be a very long journey, but hopefully not too long... ‏

Jeremiah Kariuki: ‏Lewis knows when to make the lap count! The first Lap of Q3 was all what mattered and it won the Pole for him.

With Hamilton's lap today, Mercedes have become only the second constructor in Formula 1 history to take 20 consecutive poles.

Williams are the only other team to achieve the feat, in 1992-93.

The Williams team went on to achieve 24 poles in a row (France 1992 through Japan 1993).

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Felipe Massa, P3: "It was a fantastic day for us. It is amazing to see how many people here, it is the home grand prix for the team and it is great to see.

"Me and Valtteri were third and fourth fighting each other, especially in Q3, and I just managed to get a fantastic lap in the end.

"I'm so happy, really looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully we can have a strong race and fight with the Ferrari. It is important to see we are in front with both cars we just need to concentrate on tomorrow now."

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Nico Rosberg, P2: "Well first of all the first lap was really good, Lewis was just one tenth quicker which is annoying but way it is.

"It is awesome to see how many people and here. It's great to see how enthusiastic everyone is about our sport. No one improved in that last run apart from Felipe. There was something wrong on my left front, we need to look at what it was."

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Lewis Hamilton, P1: "It's a special day. When you see all those fans out there, so many people they really do motivate me.

"It is special when you do get the pole. Generally it has not been the smoothest of weekends. I made a change in the car before qualifying which hopefully will be good for the race. Once I got to Q3 I could go all out, and I am incredibly happy. Big thank you to everyone for the support.

"It's the banners, the flags, the team caps, the messages that get sent every day. I was replying to some just before qualifying they just create the atmosphere that buzz. You know those guys are there right behind you and I hope the energy they give can help us tomorrow."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Hamilton's pole: "It's great he is on pole, he deserved it. The wind is pretty strong and gusty that was a bit of a messy situation for everybody.

"Until this morning it was Nico who was more at ease but, as you can see in all the other races, Lewis responds when it matters."

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Edward Williamson: As much as Kimi has done a good job today to try and silence his critics, I'd still rather see Hulkenberg in that Ferrari.

Liam Whitehouse: Great position for Lewis. Hopefully this is the turn around for Williams as well.

Tracy: I'm betting on Massa to win. Well deserved for team and driver if it comes true.

That pole position is Lewis Hamilton's third at the British Grand Prix, but more importantly takes him to third outright on the list of all time pole-position winners.

He now has 46, moving him one ahead of Sebastian Vettel, and behind only Ayrton Senna (65) and Michael Schumacher (68).

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Nico Rosberg: "No grip on the left front - very strange."

"I am really quite surprised Lewis looked out of sorts, locking up, on edge of bite lines - well done to him he dragged that round himself."

Ferrari feared they would be unable to challenge the Mercedes this weekend but I don't think they envisaged being out-qualified by both Williams cars, but that is exactly what happened.

Kimi Raikkonen will start fifth, 1.1secs shy of Hamilton's time, with team-mate Sebastian Vettel a tenth further back.

Kvyat, Sainz, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo round out the top 10.

"Just listen to that response from the crowd. He's done it again. That's what they came to see Lewis Hamilton has delivered."

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Hamilton actually aborted his final lap there, so all attention switched to Rosberg.

However, the writing was on the wall when the German failed to improve on his previous best time in the middle sector, and crossed the line unable to better his earlier effort of 1:32.361.

Pole instead goes to Hamilton - his third at Silverstone - with that initial 1:32.248.

The big winner in those final runs was Felipe Massa of Williams, who claimed third in a time of 1:33.085 while team-mate Valtteri Bottas could not improve.

He's two tenths up on his team-mate.

Hamilton has lost time in the middle sector.

All eyes on Rosberg

Should be Hulkenberg, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Massa, Vettel, Rosberg, Kvyat and Sainz.

"I'm buzzing inside. A windy Silverstone is one of the best tracks in the world.

"It's so close. Either of them making a small mistake could result in them losing the pole position."

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1 Hamilton, 2 Rosberg, 3 Bottas, 4 Massa, 5 Raikkonen, 6 Vettel, 7 Kvyat, 8 Sainz, 9 Ricciardo, 10 Hulkenberg

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Those first fast laps rather underlined the dominance of Mercedes this weekend.

While there's little between Hamilton and Rosbeg, there was then a gap of nine tenths to Bottas in third for Williams, with his team-mate Massa in fourth.

The Ferraris, meanwhile, are fifth and sixth, Raikkonen 1.1secs off Hamilton and Vettel 1.2.

Ouch.

Ricciardo sets the first time on a 1:33.9, which is immediately beaten by Raikkonen and then Bottas.

The Mercedes boys then come steaming through, Hamilton first on a 1:32.248, with Rosberg next, a tenth back.

Fernando Alonso talking to BBC Sport about McLaren's Q1 elimination: "DRS problem this morning and we found a solution and we could run in qualifying that was positive. I think we struck the maximum, a couple of tenth in front of Jenson.

"Belgium will be worse, Monza worse, it sounds strange but this is the best qualifying for the season for us."

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Chris Jones: Verstappen sounding like Kevin the Teenager.

David Aust: Can someone tell Max Verstappen to stop moaning and concentrate on driving the car?

James Thomas: Sainz beats Verstappen again. Will people PLEASE start giving the guy some credit.

The top-10 shoot-out for the British Grand Prix is under way.

Romain Grosjean: "The previous run was oversteer, this run was understeer. Strange."

James Goodall: Think Will Stevens can go far given the chance. Do hope Manor keep improving.

Daniel: Nice to see Stevens getting some airtime.

Ben Webb: Good run Will, and to me you guys look every bit as fast and committed as the rest! You will get to the front!

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IN: Rosberg, Bottas, Hamilton, Kvyat, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Massa, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Sainz.

Max Verstappen: "I dont know what's going on, it's just so bad compared to the practice. I don't feel one corner the same. Just no grip."

OUT: Perez, Grosjean, Verstappen, Maldonado, Ericsson.

A 1:33.9 has Raikkonen through for now but there are more cars to come through and he's only in ninth.

Your five heading out at present are Grosjean, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ericsson, Maldonado

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Raikkonen briefly went eight but he loses the time for running out of the track limits at Copse.

He's back in the drop zone...

Raikkonen really doesn't need another early elimination.

Max Verstappen: "I can't do anything."

The handling and traction of that car has seemingly gone away from the Dutchman this afternoon despite finishing a strong third in FP2 yesterday.

Eliminated at present:

Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Ericsson, Maldonado.

The Ferraris have not set laps yet.

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A 1:32.737 sees Nico Rosberg moves to the top of the order.

Lewis Hamilton slots into second, three tenths back.

Formula 1 on Twitter: "Niki Lauda catches up with Freddie Hunt - son of his great rival and friend, James"

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The Williams of Bottas is the early pace-setter with a 1:33.273s.

We've just seen Lewis Hamilton have a little lock-up and this lap has gone.

The oracle has spoken again.

With legs crossed and josticks alight, mystical Tom Clarkson says a 1:33.8 will get these guys into Q3.

Lotus F1 Team: Qualifying tension made manifest with folded arms. #Q1

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Manor's Will Stevens tells BBC Sport: "The session went really well for me and it is good to do well here in my home Grand Prix.

"I came here probably 10 or 12 years ago I was over by the old paddock. It was my first experience of F1, Schumacher won it and that was my first taste of it and I was hooked straight away and here I am now."

Djellicon: That's just unacceptable performance. I don't care if you think you're on a journey or not. Unacceptable.

Jessica McMartin: Another poor weekend for McLaren. A lot of changes needed there, has Ron Dennis had his day?

Srihari: When Alonso joined McLaren, he wouldn't have expected "We've been knocked out of Q1" to be the most-used phrase in Qualifying.

Q2 is under way.

Note that Maldonado was spared elimination by just 0.01secs, while Will Stevens was a stunning two seconds clear of team-mate Merhi.

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1 Raikkonen, 2 Rosberg, 3 Vettel, 4 Hamilton, 5 Bottas, 6 Perez, 7 Ricciardo, 8 Kvyat, 9 Massa, 10 Hulkenberg 11 Sainz, 12 Ericsson, 13 Grosjean, 14 Verstappen, 15 Maldonado

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OUT: Nasr, Alonso, Button, Stevens, Merhi.

Ericsson has improved, as has Kvyat, and therefore Alonso joins Button in elimination for McLaren.

Current eliminated drivers:

Maldnado, Button, Nasr, Stevens, Merhi.

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But it's only a 1:34.98.

Will that be enough for him?

He's just been on the radio complaining about his car...

Hmm.

So, if we take Tom Clarkson's 1:34.7 as gospel, everyone from Daniil Kvyat in ninth currently needs to improve to make it into Q2.

The Toro Rosso has looked mighty this weekend but Max Verstappen is in a bit of bother here.

He had a spin a little earlier and is yet to set a flying lap.

He's 19th at present and has just five minutes to book his place in Q2.

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Ten minutes into the session and Rosberg is quickest on a 1:33.475, three tenths up on Mercedes team-mate Hamilton.

The current eliminated drivers are Nasr, Stevens, Merhi, Verstappen and Grosjean, who is just heading out now.

"I think Hamilton's lap looked fairly steady so I don't think that will be an exact representation of where the two drivers are at this stage."

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Team to Lewis Hamilton: "Be mindful of the wind."

Will Stevens: "Can you not send the cars out so close together? It's pretty stupid when we are so close together."

Don't forget any driver that strays off track in this session will lose his lap time.

The Force India of Nico Hulkenberg is the first to fall foul of this, straying outside the track limits at Copse, as many, many drivers did this morning.

Around a dozen cars have set time so far and just three are under the 1:34.7 target time postulated by Tom Clarkson.

Rosberg, Hamilton and Bottas are the three in question.

Jenson Button has famously never finished on the podium at his home race.

I don't think too many punters will be beating a path to the bookmakers to put money on him breaking his duck this weekend.

Just getting that McLaren through Q1 would be an achievement.

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"The differences between the two tyres this weekend has been just under a second. The top teams will try to get through this Q1 on the hard tyre. I think the cut off will be 1.34.7secs to get through to Q2."

Let's go qualifying.

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Don't forget you can view extra camera streams across qualifying and tomorrow's race, including driver tracker, pit lane channel, on-board and timing screens.

"We're in virtually perfect conditions here apart from the wind and that's nothing new at this open airfield track."

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We asked you earlier to name the five British men who have finished second in their home grand prix without ever winning it.

Thanks to all of you who played along, but I'll leave it to the first person to get all five right to reveal all...

Jackie Pike on Twitter: 5 British Drivers to come 2nd but never win British GP? Derek Warwick, John Surtees, Graham Hill, Mike Hawthorn and Eddie Irvine.

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Janine Hall: Me and my little man at Vale.

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Daniel Houston: Nice to see the #RedArrows showing the world how its done! #BritishGP #silverstone

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Another man to hold up as an example of forgotten British driver is Dennis Poore.

Who?

Well, Poore was fleetingly an F1 driver in 1952 and finished fourth at the British GP at the wheel of a Connaught Lea-Francis. He entered one more F1 race, the 1952 Italian GP, where he finished 12th, before focusing on his business interests.

One of those interests was as a financier, and it is in this area that his legacy endures. For it was the wealthy Poore (ironic, huh?) who provided the financial clout for Gregor Grant to establish a certain Autosport Magazine in 1950.

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Any more British racing heroes to flag up? Get in touch using #britishf1hero

Strong stuff from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner this lunchtime, who tells BBC Sport: "It has been a tough start to the season for us.

"Renault have misjudged what is required in modern-day Formula 1.

"For a team that is used to being able to challenge at the front, to now not be able to, frustrations are obviously going to boil over."

Matthew McEvoy: Sitting on the grass on the last corner, lovely day and I have sunburn.

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Andy Sutcliffe: I fancy a Ferrari win at Silverstone this weekend Vettel win with Rosberg 2nd and bottas 3rd on podium.

"Things not looking good for Alonso. Whatever's wrong with his engine has not been fixed yet, with 30 mins before qualifying."

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Si: Just waiting for the excitement to happen...

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Nigel Mansell tells BBC Sport the British crowd at Silverstone could have an influence on the race.

"I think it will give Lewis half a second if not a second, he flew pretty quick this morning in practice," the four-time British Grand Prix winner parps.

Just a reminder that we have a little quiz question simmering on the hob this Saturday lunchtime.

It goes as follows:

Five British men have finished in second place in the British Grand Prix without ever actually winning their home race. Can you name them?

You've got around 20 minutes til we reveal the answers.

Grapevine Grand Prix: Even with Hamilton's resurgence this morning, I still think Rosberg will pip him. But only just.

Dan the Soldier Man: Merhi will be last cus propa' Landaner Will Stevens will use crowd power to get him 19th.

Gaby Wolferink: Hopefully Toro Rosso will keep their advantage over Red Bull and Williams.

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Today would have been the 55th birthday of Roland Ratzenberger.

The popular Austrian was just 33 years old when he died in an accident while driving a Simtek in practice for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the day before Ayrton Senna was killed while leading the race for Williams.

Ratzenberger, who also competed in British F3, British Touring Cars and at Le Mans, entered three F1 races, starting once at the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix at Aida, where he finished 11th.

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"As Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg prepare to do battle for pole position at the British Grand Prix, there have been some interesting quotes published in the papers from Hamilton. Two particular things stand out. One was his revelation that, when he stopped at Portier on the slow-down lap after losing in Monaco, he was praying: 'It just gave me strength.'

"The other was a very pointed remark about winning his second title. 'Winning the world championship for the first time was special,' he says. 'And then everyone got one. Well, not everyone, but a few of the drivers. Then it felt like having one was not special any more. So getting that second one was huge to me.' It's hard not to read that as a slight against one particular rival. A blond German one."

The battle for pole is obviously always important, but if ever there was a place to miss out on top spot, it's here at Silvestone.

Just three of the last 17 British Grands Prix have been won from pole, making this the least important pole of the year. Rubens Barrichello in 2003, Fernando Alonso in 2006 and Sebastian Vettel in 2009, all on the previous layout, represent that happy band.

That said, you don't want to qualify too far back.

Lewis Hamilton's win from sixth last year was the first British GP at Silverstone to be won from outside the top five on the grid since Emerson Fittipaldi's final F1 win in 1975, when the Brazilian came through from seventh place for McLaren.

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Lewis Hamilton's win in the rain at Silverstone in 2008 really was a drive out of the top drawer.

In horrendous conditions, the young Briton, in only his second F1 season, never put a wheel wrong as he crushed the opposition with a Senna-esque display.

It's well worth another look, and you can do just that here.

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Yesterday we were asking for your British F1 heroes and had an amazing response.

It got me thinking about just how many British drivers have competed in this great sport over the years, and just how many are largely forgotten today.

Reg Parnell is a name familiar to F1 purists but is not widely known today, but in fact he was one of this country's most successful drivers in the immediate pre- and post-war eras, so much so he was awarded the British Racing Drivers' Club's Gold Star in 1947.

Although his career in F1 ran to just seven races, he finished on the podium in the first of those - the inaugural Formula 1 grand prix at Silverstone in 1950.

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Sixty minutes until qualifying begins for British Grand Prix.

Hamilton or Rosberg?

Place your bets now.

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We're all off to rake the gravel at Copse, but while we do we thought a little quiz would be a nice way to sustain you between now and qualifying.

The question is this:

Five British men have finished in second place in the British Grand Prix without ever actually winning their home race. Can you name them?

Answers to #bbcf1 please.

We'll reveal all during the build up to qualifying from 12:00 BST.

Is what a number of F1 drivers might be telling their mechanics right about now.

Certainly a good number of them were sailing off the track at Copse today, where it seems the gusty conditions have been wreaking most havoc.

Jenson Button's excursion below was one of around a dozen wind-assisted detours during FP3, and it's worth remembering that any such incidents in qualifying will result in the driver losing that lap time.

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Nico Rosberg did get a lap in at the end there but it does not trouble his team-mate.

Rosberg ends five tenths down on Lewis Hamilton, whose time of 1:32.917 has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of qualifying. He said he needed to improve after yesterday's disappointments and it seems he has.

Kimi Raikkonen is two tenths behind Rosberg in the first Ferrari with the second of Sebastian Vettel in fourth, a full second off Hamilton.

Then it's the ever-impressive Toro Rossos of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, the Williamses of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, while Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) and Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) complete the top 10.

While Rosberg gets good news, for McLaren's Fernando Alonso it stays bad.

He's got a hydraulic issue and will not get out for a quali-sim run.

Just six laps in this session for the Spaniard.

It transpires Rosberg's oil leak was not as serious as first thought and he will be able to get a quali sim lap in.

He's heading out with two minutes to go...

Lewis Hamilton's first run on the medium sees him register a 1:32.917.

That's more than seven tenths up on Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari on the same tyre.

The Williams man will be the first to do a quali-sim lap on the softer tyre.

Yesterday the medium tyre proved around 0.8s faster than the hard.

He does a 1:34.5, only around half a second up on his hard-tyre runs and way off the Mercedes.

"McLaren's old front wing in the Silverstone pitlane - just in case"

Tom ClarksonCopyright: Tom Clarkson

Few issues at T9 (Copse) I would say.....

ALlan McNishCopyright: ALlan McNish

Right, we're about to get to the meat of this session.

The quicker medium tyres are about to go on and the qualifying simulation runs are about to begin.

Stand by yer beds.

James Matthews: Colin Chapman. Absolute genius and integral part to so many championships for Lotus.

Chris Tring: Has to be our Nige, the epitome of British grit an determination.

Adam: In terms of who's done most for the sport, it has to be Bernie Ecclestone. Sorry.

"Nico Rosberg is definitely not going out again. He's got a gearbox oil leak."

Tom ClarksonCopyright: Tom Clarkson

@NoneOneMany: Early doors at Abbey for Practice 3 for the BritishGP at Silverstone

@NoneonemanyCopyright: @Noneonemany

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"In the context of that team principals' news conference, I feel it's time to correct a few misconceptions. Travelling into the track this morning, 5 live were carrying an item about Formula 1, in which they had interviewed fans at the grand prix on Friday about why they loved the sport.

"All did, obviously, but many expressed some of the misgivings that have been uttered by the likes of Bernie Ecclestone and Christian Horner in recent months and years. Some said they thought the new turbo hybrid engines were too quiet. One said that he was at Le Mans this year and 'those cars are faster than F1 now'. This is a widespread belief, but it is simply not true.

"The fastest qualifying lap at the Silverstone World Endurance Championship race was a one minute 39.534. Nico Rosberg did a 1:34.155 in free practice in Friday, and will go at least a second faster in qualifying on Saturday. The fastest WEC race lap was 1:40.836. Rosberg was doing 1:38s in his race simulation - and that was a start-of-the-race fuel load, off which you can take three seconds for an end-of-race lap. So, in fact, F1 cars are five seconds a lap faster than the WEC cars.

"Where do these erroneous ideas come from?"

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Boom.

Battle is joined between the Mercedes.

Nico Rosberg flashed round in a 1:33.731 - six tenths up on Hamilton - but the world champion responded just minutes later, a 1:33.333 raising the bar by 0.398.

The Mercedes cars were pretty much the last to set a time in this session, but inevitably when they did they vaulted straight to the top of the order.

Lewis Hamilton, on his first hot lap, is fastest on a 1:34.399, with team-mate Nico Rosberg just 0.037secs in arrears.

They we have the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat in third (0.375 back), Vettel's Ferrari fourth, the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and Bottas' Williams sixth.

All of these times have been set on the hard (slower) compound.

You've been sending us loads of pictures from the stands and fan areas today, some of which we've already shared with you.

Keep them coming to #bbcf1 please.

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Sarah Fuller: We're at #Silverstone #BritishGP YIPPEE!

Sarah FullerCopyright: Sarah Fuller

Toro Rosso are coming good on the promise showed on Friday.

They are right in the mix at ther sharp end today, with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen third and fourth at present.

Sebastian Vettel leads the way in the Ferrari at the moment with a 1:34.932.

Top six: Vettel, Bottas, Sainz, Verstappen, Massa, Perez.

Charlie: Fair bit of wind at Farm Curve at Silverstone.

@CharldawgCopyright: @Charldawg

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"Looking for a dark horse this weekend? It could be a Red Bull team. The lead cars were looking much more competitive on Friday than they did in Austria and Canada, the car's strong aerodynamic qualities showing through with Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and sixth place. And the Toro Rosso junior team were also looking strong. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were only seventh and ninth on headline lap times, but the car was working very well in the high-speed corners and their race-simulation times were strong.

"Afterwards, Verstappen was positively brimming with confidence. The car is very good here," said the Dutchman. "You can see again in high speed we are the fastest cars. The car is very enjoyable to drive. The long run was very good. I was very happy with the long run. I had Mercedes in front of me that wasn't pulling away a lot, and in general the car balance was very positive. I think we can be very strong on race pace. I think only Mercedes was a bit faster.' Verstappen says a place on the fourth row of the grid is 'realistic'."

Mercedes on Twitter: Much cooler Silverstone today: track temp of 27 compared to 35 during FP1.

We've seen this a lot this year. Williams were pretty anonymous on Friday but come third practice they begin to show a little bit more of their true pace.

They've just gone one and two, Bottas top on a 1:35.082, with Felipe Massa second, four tenths back.

Force India on Twitter: Heading out in quick succession, Nico and Checo leave the pits.

Force IndiaCopyright: Force India

Jonathan Armstrong: On our way!

Ah, a lovely morning stroll through Silverstone village. Lucky you.

Jonathan ArmstrongCopyright: Jonathan Armstrong

AFP/GETTYCopyright: AFP/GETTY

"A McLaren did not break down on track on Friday, which was a pleasant surprise after the awful weekends preceding this one in Austria and Canada but that hardly made it a good day.

"Limited by the age of their engines, and the desire to limit future penalties as much as possible, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button managed only 57 laps between them across the two sessions. To put that into perspective, the Mercedes drivers did 95 - and that was with Nico Rosberg missing the vast majority of first practice because his car stopped out on track with a loss of hydraulic pressure. The McLarens were not very fast either.

"Alonso, nearly half a second up on Button, was 2.5 seconds off the pace. 'Getting into Q2 is going to be tough,' the Spaniard said. 'Only Sauber seems in our pace. The others are a little bit too quick for us, so we need to beat the Saubers if we want to be in Q2. Once we do maximum performance in qualifying we try to see the chequered flag in the race.'"

Grosjean duly puts up the first quick lap of the day, a 1:36.784. He's swiftly displaced by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen (1:36.718).

Fernando Alonso's McLaren has just slotted into second.

Early days.

FP3 is go.

The Lotus of Romain Grosjean is the first man out.

Lewis Hamilton talking to the BBC's Jennie Gow: "We had some problems with the balance of the car yesterday, but we rectified it last night and I'm looking forward to today.

"It's crazy how many people will be coming today - thanks so much to everybody."

Ian Fergusson (BBC Weather on Twitter): Air 21C & track temp 26.5C ahead of P3. It'll be dry, breezy but sunnier all day, rising to 25-26C later.

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Nico Rosberg has said he must raise his game "like Andy Murray" has in tennis to beat Mercedes' team-mate and world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Wimbledon is going on you see.

He's being topical.

*cough*

Chris Raynes on Twitter: We're ready and waiting!! #backthebrits

Chris RaynesCopyright: Chris Raynes

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"Formula 1's existential crisis continues apace, and the regular team principals' news conference on Friday was dominated by it. It was a slow-burner, but it came alive when Lotus chief executive officer Matthew Carter, in his wisdom, blamed the media for much of the negativity surrounding the sport. That went down well, as you can imagine.

"The news conference got a bit tasty as it was pointed out that, in fact, many of the 'negative' stories that have been written have been based on quotes from leading figures in the sport, particularly Bernie Ecclestone, who a few weeks ago gave a quote to AFP that he had told the engineers they had given him 'a crap product to sell'. The bosses in the conference were asked whether, if their chief executive had described their product in such a way, they would expect them to be fired. Force India boss Vijay Mallya invented a new word, and generated a lot of laughs, when he said: 'How would I respond to the chief executive's comment that he had a crappy product to sell? He shouldn't be selling the product if he thought it was crap.

"Considering he sells the product he calls crap, but he makes billions out of it, he needs to work with the participants to uncrap it.'"

Williams on Twitter: The calm before/after the storm. Hope all those camping Silverstone withstood the wind and rain. It's quali day!!

WilliamsCopyright: Williams

"Nico Rosberg has produced this weekend one of those fascinating little snippets of information that gets to the heart of whatever matter it is. 'This is a great track,' he said, asked for his feelings about Silverstone. 'It's the fastest track of the year in terms of average speed.'

"Faster than Spa, with its flat-out Eau Rouge and 150mph double-left at Pouhon. Faster than Suzuka, which has the amazing 130R. There, in a nutshell, is what makes Silverstone such a challenge for the drivers."

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Lotus on Twitter: Clouds are disappearing slowly to let the sun come out!

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There was a storm over Silverstone last night but a dry third practice is forecast.

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Heather Watson was brilliant at Wimbledon yesterday, let's clear that up here and now. But, I fear, we have to place the performance in the 'defeated plucky Brit' corner. Which let's face it, is something we all get pretty sick of.

Well, the good news is that in F1 over the past 65 years Britons have rarely been burdened with the label 'plucky', because our record in this sport is second-to-none.

This small island has produced a record 10 world champions, seven more than the next most successful countries Brazil and Finland, and has an exemplary record when it comes to home grand prix winners.

In the 65 British Grands Prix to date, 22 of them have been won by 12 British drivers: Stirling Moss, Tony Brooks, Peter Collins, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, John Watson, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton.

Gentlemen, we salute you.

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"Friday was one of those days when Lewis Hamilton contradicts himself in the space of a sentence, which is never a good sign. It had been a 'good day', he said as he faced the television cameras after practice, but he had 'some work to do'. It had 'not been the easiest of days but it's generally been OK'.

"It hadn't looked 'OK' during second practice. Although fastest on the 'hard' tyre early in the session, Hamilton was nearly half a second off team-mate Nico Rosberg during the qualifying simulation runs, and at least as much on the fuelled-up long runs, which Hamilton aborted after saying: 'The car is all over the place; I can't go any faster than I am right now.' Will he and his engineers have sorted it out overnight? We are about to find out."

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Welcome along to our live text commentary of final practice and qualifying for the British Grand Prix, the ninth round of the 2015 F1 season.

With the halfway point of the season upon us, battle is joined in the title race, with the momentum slowly turning the way of Nico Rosberg - or so it would seem.

Three wins from the last four races and quickest in both practice sessions certainly smacks of a man hitting his straps.

Conversely, team-mate Lewis Hamilton is in not such a good place. He made mistakes in practice yesterday and was well off his team-mate's pace - and indeed that of the Ferraris - and must dredge up a response today.

FP3 starts in 30 minutes, with qualifying at 13:00 BST. Get comfy.

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For all the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth, F1 looks in fairly rude health as it struts about a leafy corner of Northamptonshire this weekend.

While strategy groups stroke their chins and the critics trip over themselves to stick the knife into F1, the fact is that an eye-watering 85,000 paying fans turned up at Silverstone yesterday to watch practice sessions.

Add to that the 105,000 fans due at the track for qualifying today and a sell-out 140,000 for the race on Sunday, and I'm tempted to ask what all the fuss is all about.

Yes, F1 could do better, but crisis? I can think of a dozen other sports that would kill for a crisis like this.