Torrential rain delays qualifying at Silverstone

Torrential rain has brought qualifying to a halt with 6 minutes remaining in Q2, as the drivers struggled to keep their cars pointing in the right direction out on track. The red flag was flown as many drivers began to aquaplane in the seriously tough conditions, including the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

The rain began to fall as Q1 got underway, with the teams initially opting for the Cinturato intermediate (green) tyres. However, as the opening session of qualifying came to a close the rain intensified which meant many drivers started Q2 on the Cinturato full wet (blue) tyres.

As the session progressed it became abundantly clear that the drivers could no longer push, and that qualifying had turned more into of a survival than a qualifying session. With drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso all visibly suffering in the treacherous conditions, the red flag was finally brought out.

With the rain continuing to lash down upon the Silverstone circuit, it will be a considerable amount of time before qualifying can resume, if at all. Sergio Perez is currently in provisional pole-position, ahead of local hero Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

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Times (red flag in Q2) :