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We are 10 minutes away from the start of Q1 at Silverstone. Track conditions are 19C with a 10% chance of rain and wind speeds of 32mph.
José is in the house.
Any chance of F1 leaving Silverstone one day, Mr Chief Executive?
Silverstone has the right characteristics to stay for ever in the calendar. There’s no other places where you can develop such a huge event in the UK. I don’t see any other places, to be honest.
That sounds like a no, then.
With Norris and Piastri the favourites heading into Silverstone this year, it’s been quite a turnaround for McLaren after their mid-2010s spell in the doldrums.
At the heart of this resurgence, one that was by no means guaranteed, has been Andrea Stella, who became racing director in 2019 and at the end of 2022 was made team principal. The Italian is a fascinating and endearingly likable character but most importantly a remarkably astute leader.
Not a great start to Bearman’s first home grand prix weekend, then.
A document released following the stewards’ hearing said: “Car 87 had slowed down for the red flag and as he was approaching Turn 15 accelerated significantly to race pace and entered the pit entry road at 260kph. He lost control of the car in the pit entry road and crashed into the barriers.
“Art. 37.6 (a) of the Formula One Sporting Regulations and Art. 2.5.4.1(b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code require that when a red flag is shown ‘all cars must immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pit lane’.”
The 20-year-old also picked up four penalty points, making the total on his licence now eight. Here is the incident:
Ollie Bearman clatters into the barriers on the pit entry 💥
Catch up with all the key action from FP3 ⤵️#F1 #BritishGP
Bearman handed grid penalty for crash
Haas’s Ollie Bearman has received a 10-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race for a ‘red flag infringement’ after spinning out and hitting the barriers by the pit lane while a red flag was being flown after Gabriel Bortoleto had himself spun off
Here’s what the lap times looked like at the end of that chaotic third practice session earlier:
Preamble
Welcome to live coverage of qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Home favourite Lando Norris continues his pursuit of his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, at the top of the drivers’ championship – 15 points separate the two – after his win in Austria last weekend.
Piastri, who was unable to stop Norris from winning his home race in Melbourne in March, will want to get some payback by winning here, I’m sure. But could British hopes come from elsewhere? George Russell, of course, a winner in Canada three weeks ago. It seems a long time since Lewis Hamilton took an emotional victory here just last year.
What are you expecting from qualifying (3pm BST start) and the race tomorrow? Get in touch by emailing in here.
And here’s what happened in final practice earlier on Saturday:
Charles Leclerc set the pace as final practice hinted at a tight battle for pole position. The top four cars were separated by just over a 10th of a second as Leclerc edged out McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri by just 0.068 seconds. Max Verstappen was third with Lando Norris, who trails teammate Piastri by 15 points in the standings after victory in Austria last weekend, in fourth.
Ferrari underlined the pace they showed on Friday, where seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton topped the charts in FP1. Hamilton was on course to set the fastest time before a red flag curtailed his lap with only a couple of corners to complete, meaning he finished only 11th. The 40-year-old has a remarkable record at his home race, winning a record nine times at Silverstone including victory in the rain last year. He has also finished in the top three in all of his last 11 appearances here but is yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari colours. George Russell was eighth for Mercedes.
British driver Oliver Bearman had a horrible moment at the end of the session, which had been red-flagged after Gabriel Bortoleto crashed, spinning nose-first into the wall on the entry to the pit lane. PA Media
