Silverstone is fast and rampaging and in the next few hours, it could well become a possibly exhilarating F1 battleground.
For the first time in over five decades the start to a British Grand Prix sees three British drivers lining up in the front for the race.
In what was a wet and dry qualifying day at the oldest track in Formula 1 history, Silverstone struck gold with three in-form British drivers battling for glory bettering the rest.
Surprises galore at Silverstone
True to its usual style, the track with 18 turns unfurled many a surprise as the decisive moments of the qualifying for the British Grand Prix began to unfold.
The first shocker, or was it really one, was seeing Sergio Perez beaching his Red Bull onto the gravel with Q1 far from being over.
Who knows what might happen on race day, but the seemingly out of from driver contesting with lacklustre form is now left with a lot of damage recovery work to do after his Red Bull skidded out in a fast corner only to slide over to the gravel, thus prompting the quali to be hit by an early Red flag.
Tough qualifying day for Leclerc
It wasn’t a great day for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc either, previously, a winner here at Silverstone in red racing overalls.
Leclerc, clearly struggling for pace on an older set of softer tyres couldn’t get the pace he was expecting out of his SF 24 and found himself out in Q2.
This is the second time in the last four races that the Monegasque’s failed to make it to Q3 since winning his maiden Monaco Grand Prix, which happened earlier this year.
It’s a real setback for Ferrari that only one of their cars begins inside the top ten tomorrow as Leclerc will surely have to battle it out on Sunday having done no better than P11 on Saturday.
It was also a bit of a surprising day for Fernando Alonso, who did go quicker than Norris’s McLaren and Sainz’s Ferrari at some stage during qualifying only to, however, register a tenth place start on the grid for the race.
Struggles for Ferrari but not for some of the midfielders
Silverstone also showed the silvery form of Alex Albon, who managed to get into a sandwich between the two Aston Martin cars; Stroll doing better than his Spanish teammate in bagging an eighth while the Thai-British driver recording a P9 at the end of qualifying.
The Hulk’s silvery run at Silverstone on Saturday
Meanwhile, the biggest surprise of them all was Nico Hulkenberg’s raw pace in that Haas. A driver who’s going to be in the sport for a few more years has gone on to demonstrate why that is the case and how he deserves it.
Setting the fastest time in one of the laps in Q2, the veteran driver from Germany showed a great stomach for a good battle and would eventually score a definitive P6.
After scoring a brilliant P6 for Haas at the most recent F1 outing at Austria’s Spielberg, it could be argued that the Hulk is operating in a bit of a career rival mode.
What can Sainz do on Sunday
But speaking of operating, the smooth operator of Formula 1 Carlos Sainz could only manage a seventh. Sainz, fresh from a podium as seen the week before would want to bring curtains to the weekend with a strong performance at Silverstone.
However, for that to happen, the Spaniard, also a winner at this track back in 2022, will have to hope for a solid start in the next few hours.
That said, it could be argued that qualifying at Silverstone wasn’t such an extraordinary outcome for defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, the winner of F1’s last race at Austria as also winner at Silverstone last year.
Not exactly a (mad) Max attack at Silverstone
While there were flashes of speed, there wasn’t that usual Verstappen-esque consistency in raw pace that is so essential on any qualifying day; the Dutch driver pushing as hard as he could have but finding himself troubled by the dominant McLaren and Mercedes show.
While Max begins his 2024 British Grand Prix from fourth on the grid, just ahead of Oscar Piastri, it is still a commendable result considering his car was plagued by floor damage, much of which has been looked at by engineers apparently post completion of qualifying.
So as Russell will hope for a third Grand Prix win, which if true, would be a second win for him this year, Silverstone might present us a cracker of a battle between the relentless Lewis Hamilton, second on the grid for the race and Lando Norris, who starts behind the Mercedes #44.
It ought to be noted that two of the three drivers who have lined up in at the front this time around were actually on the podium here last year.
Will the Brits set Silverstone on Blitz on Sunday?
While Norris bagged a fighting second in the 2023 event, Hamilton rounded off the podium with a third.
But what could happen this time around?
Will George Russell muscle his way to record another sensational win to truly spice up the ongoing championship battle?
The boy from King’s Lynn has been quick and been showing nerves of steel in the last few races.
Or will Norris finally get that big and much awaited win at his home Grand Prix?
Forget not, the two young Britons could likely challenged by the Great Briton sir Lewis Hamilton, who has to his credit no fewer than 8 career wins at this venue, a world record.