British Grand Prix: Qualifying Facts and Stats

Valtteri Bottas secured his fourth pole of the season by just 0.006 seconds in the closest qualifying session since the 2010 German Grand Prix. There were fine margins between the top 3 who were separated by just 0.079s, down on last season's gap of 0.098s. Here are some other notable statistics from Saturday qualifying at the British Grand Prix.

• Mercedes Silverstone dominance continues as they secured their seventh consecutive pole position at the British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton's shot at pole took a blow with a costly error at Brooklands, but he still came home P2 to secure the Silver Arrows' 64th front-row lockout, breaking their own record for the most in F1 history.

• Ferrari looked a threat to Mercedes during the opening two qualifying phases, but fell behind in the final shootout. Charles Leclerc will start in the top 3 for the fourth race in a row and also out-qualified his team mate for the third consecutive race weekend. It is also the first time Sebastian Vettel has been beaten by a Ferrari team mate in qualifying at Silverstone.

• When it rains, it often pours in Formula 1. Vettel’s P6 on Saturday means the four-time champion will start from outside the top five for the third consecutive race in his worst run since 2016.

• Red Bull’s strong qualifying will put them in the mix on Sunday. Pierre Gasly has been closer to his team mate this weekend and grabs his fourth top 6 start of 2019 in fifth. Verstappen just edged his team mate and will start P4 for the fifth time this season.

• Daniel Ricciardo finally out-qualified a team mate at the historic circuit for the first time in the turbo-hybrid era. The Australian has now beaten Nico Hulkenberg eight times this season as he continues to extract the maximum from his Renault.

• McLaren's Lando Norris impressed on home soil, qualifying eighth and beating his team mate for the seventh time in 2019. Carlos Sainz continues his Silverstone struggles, as he failed to reach the final part of qualifying for the third year running here.

• Alexander Albon impressed with his second Q3 appearance of the season. But it was a mixed session for Toro Rosso as Daniil Kvyat suffered a miserable Saturday. His third back-to-back Q1 elimination is the Russian’s worst run since 2016.

• Haas fell away from the top end of the midfield as both drivers struggled for performance. Kevin Magnussen lost control of his car on his final quick lap in Q1 and was knocked out of the opening phase of qualifying for the first time since Mexico 2018.