Lewis Hamilton achieves his first target at the British Grand Prix by topping Qualifying session

Lewis Hamilton (C) of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates finishing first alongside second placed Nico Rosberg (R) of Germany and Mercedes GP and third placed Sebastian Vettel (L) of Germany and Infiniti Red Bull Racing following qualifying for the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit

Over the last few days, Formula One is set to lose another constant. Mark Webber announced that he will be leaving F1 for le Mans at the end of the season. With this in the mind of many fans, they are hoping that Webber will repeat his 2012 year- taking pole and the win.

With a warm, sunny day, qualifying started at Silverstone. First car out on track was Nico Hülkenberg in the Williams followed closely by his teammate Esteban Gutiérrez .

As Q1 dropped under the 15 minute mark, the wind began to pick up a little. It doesn’t seem like much but wind has always been an issue on this circuit (which is a big open airfield). It has always been a challenge when a gust can significantly change the balance of the car.

It’s easy to see why the grandstands do not look as full during qualifying as they do during the race. When you see some drivers exit the pit to take one flying lap and return. When the split between the two ‘race’ is so far that the top teams and drivers do no feel it necessary to stay out and run. Fully understanding that if they have a time in the top five in Q1, there is no worry of being knocked out.

The first session in qualifying at Silverstone did not bring out much unexpected. The only major difference from Montreal to Silverstone is Valtteri Bottas. Ending qualifying in Canada in P3 compared to Great Britian in P18.

Eliminated drivers after that first segment:

17) Valtteri Bottas 1:32.664s18) Esteban Gutiérrez 1:32.666s19) Charles Pic 1:33.866s20) Jules Bianchi 1:34.108s21) Giedo Van der Garde 1:35.481s22) Max Chilton 1:35.858s

Q2 began and with the cars going round, the track was getting a layer of rubber laid down. Making the times start to drop.

For the first 12 minutes of Q2, it looked more like a practice session than a qualifying session. Car were on track but no one seemed to really be putting in a ‘good effort’. That was until the last four or five minutes.

When Vettel set the second session’s fastest time with four minutes left, the remaining drivers started to really pick up their pace. For some of the drivers, they were able to keep up. For others through, not so much.

A big disappointment all around the paddock was the absence of McLarens in the top ten shoot out. Both Button and Perez failed to make the cut off.

With a busy end to the qualifying segment. Here were the six drivers who were eliminated:

11) Jenson Button 1:31.649s12) Felipe Massa 1:31.779s13) Jean-Éric Vergne 1:31.785s14) Sergio Perez 1:32.082s15) Nico Hülkenberg 1:32.211s16) Pastor Maldonado 1:32.359s

The racing was on as soon as the Top Ten shootout began.

Even with five minutes left in the session, the times were beginning to flirt with the 1:20′s. First you had Mark Webber, then Sebastian Vettel and then Lewis Hamilton pipped the Red Bulls to clock an even faster time.

Lewis Hamilton took his 28th pole position with an astonishing time of 1:29.607. His teamate Nico Rosberg will be right behind the Briton in P2, relegating the Red Bulls to start on P3 and P4.

With times like that in qualifying, Sunday should prove to be quite an interesting race.

Lewis Hamilton	P1
Nico Rosberg	P2
Sebastian Vettel	P3
Mark Webber	P4
Paul di Resta	P5
Daniel Ricciardo	P6
Adrian Sutil	P7
Romain Grosjean	P8
Kimi Räikkönen	P9
Fernando Alonso	P10
Jenson Button	P11
Felipe Massa	P12
Jean-Éric Vergne	P13
Sergio Perez	P14
Nico Hülkenberg	P15
Pastor Maldonado	P16
Valtteri Bottas	P17
Esteban Gutiérrez	P18
Charles Pic	P19
Jules Bianchi	P20
Giedo van der Garde	P21
Max Chilton	P22