Frenchman back on top in qualifying

Romain  Grosjean  has  claimed  his  third  pole  of  the  season  in  blustery  conditions  yesterday afternoon  in Silverstone, finding a clear lap while his rivals tripped over themselves in traffic to take the top spot ahead of Alberto Valerio and Alvaro Parente. Grosjean set a best time of 1:25.899 on a clear lap after exiting the pits with fresh tyres ahead of the  remainder  of  the  field,  cutting  two  tenths  out  of  Valerio's  time  to  claim  pole  while  his  rivals tripped over each other trying to beat him.

The  fight  for  the  top  spot  between  the  pair  was  intense:  the  Brazilian  set  the  early  pace  until Grosjean bested all three sectors to slot in ahead, but with much of the field coming in to the pits halfway through the session one last, clear lap for Valerio looked to have solidified him at the top, until Grosjean escaped ahead of everyone else and stole it back.

In  the  closing  minutes  though  it  looked  set  to  tumble:  Jérôme  d'Ambrosio  was  the  first  man  to miss out because of traffic, having to make do with fourth ahead of Lucas di Grassi, Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hülkenberg, all of whom had a legitimate claim for pole before having their laps spoilt for them. Today's pole was one second faster than the best lap from last year: the first thirteen drivers  were  ahead  of  that  time,  which  promises  a  blistering  pace  for  race  one  this afternoon.

Silverstone – Qualifying session

Driver Team Time Laps

1. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax Team 1:25.899 13

2. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:26.103 14

3. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.162 14

4. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:26.317 16

5. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:26.370 15

6. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:26.381 13

7. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:26.406 15

8. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:26.678 17

 9. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:26.723 15

 10. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:26.747 13

11. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:26.831 16

12. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.842 15

13. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:26.927 15

14. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:27.086 15

15. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:27.105 16

16. Andreas Zuber FMSI 1:27.106 15

17. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1 :27.135 17

18. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:27.379 15

19. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:27.494 16

20 Michael Herck DPR 1:27.598 14

21. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:28.014 15

22. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:28.043 15

23. Luiz Razia FMSI 1:28.789 6 -- Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP -- 2 -- Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing -- 1 -- Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International -- 1