FORMULA 1 - 2012

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HAMILTON READY TO GO ON NEW F1 DEAL:

This being the British Grand Prix weekend, there is an inevitable focus on Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button as the UK news media look for some fresh angles on the pair.

Inevitably most interest focusses on Hamilton’s next contract, as his existing deal is up at the end of this year. At a briefing with journalists on Thursday Hamilton said he is “ready to go” on the next contract and that he’s decided what he wants to do.

“A new contract is something I’m thinking about but I haven’t got anything sorted yet. I am ready to get it done,” he said. “Being ready means you’ve made a decision and you know what you’re going to do. At some point soon I would like to get something in place.”

This certainly sounds like he’s staying put; Hamilton’s management team XIX have been looking for improved terms from what McLaren already felt was a very generous contract, agreed in the pre-credit crunch days. Hamilton’s options are not extensive, as Ferrari wouldn’t want to pair him with Alonso and in any case seem to be looking elsewhere. Mark Webber seems set to stay at Red Bull, the only question being whether it’s for one year or the two years he’s looking for.

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn has said that the team will decide in the coming weeks on whether Michael Schumacher continues in the Silver Arrows although the seven times champion has said that he will not be ready to decide until October.

Hamilton is the kind of driver the team could do with to kick them forward, but there is little talk of that at the moment.

McLaren believe that Hamilton wants to stay with them. The fact that Hamilton was talking about wanting the new deal to allow him to break a long standing McLaren protocol and keep his race trophies (McLaren drivers have to get replicas) shows that they are into fine details rather than big picture items like retainer.

Jenson Button’s problems recently, with only six points scored in the last five races, will also have helped Hamilton’s cause in persuading the team how much they need him.

Hamilton was fastest in practice on Friday, but it doesn’t mean a great deal at this stage as many drivers didn’t do many laps.

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Schumi: Good opportunities in the rain

Michael Schumacher is hoping to make the most of the British summer rain after finishing third quickest in Friday's very wet second practice.

While many of his rivals were bemoaning a wasted day at Silverstone, Schumacher insists there were lessons to be learnt - after all these are the conditions the drivers will have to deal with for the rest of the weeekend.

"There are still things to be learned on days like these and the positive about today's rain was that it is also forecast for tomorrow and Sunday," Schumacher said.

"This meant that we were able to use today to prepare for the race, primarily on the wet tyres. We also tried the intermediates briefly but they were no faster in these conditions.

"The rain was constant, which allowed us to at least complete some parts of our programme."

One of the lessons Schumacher learnt were the limits of the track as the German was spotted several times sliding off in the dismal conditions.

He finished Friday's running third quickest, 0.200s adrift of Lewis Hamilton's P1 time.

"There was a lot of standing water, but it was hard to spot from the cockpit, which meant that the drivers had to be very vigilant.

"Today's sessions went okay and, in any case, we know that at this circuit, with its particular characteristics, rain offers us good chances and opportunities."

Meanwhile, team boss Ross Brawn was full of praise for the many fans who flocked to the circuit, braving the conditions to watch - or wait for - their favourite drivers.

"A very British 'summer' day here at Silverstone, and we must say a big thank you to the fans who have braved the unpleasant conditions to be here for their fantastic support today.

"In such poor track conditions, often we won't persevere with trying to achieve much running, but it was important for us to find a good balance and set-up on the wet tyres today as these conditions are expected to remain for the weekend.

"From that perspective it was a reasonable day, and the cars seem to be well-balanced. We'll see what tomorrow brings."

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Vettel: Weather will determine the order

Sebastian Vettel concedes the British weather will play a massive role in outcome of this weekend's British GP after the rain curtailed running on Friday.

With the rain coming down as they took to the track in Friday's first practice session only eight drivers opted to cover 10 or more laps.

However, there was even less running later in the day as the conditions deterioted resulting in only two drivers setting a lap time in the first 45 minutes of Practice Two. And even when they did head out, again only eight drivers covered more than 10 laps.

Vettel was one of the few who did in both sessions, amassing 11 in the first and 10 in the second where he finished down in 13th place after opting to run on the intermediate tyres and save a set of full wets for later in the weekend.

"I think we saved the tyres by not running," said Vettel. "This afternoon there was too much water. It's pretty tricky in these conditions.

"I think it's more of a shame for the fans sitting in the grandstands waiting for the cars to come out, and we didn't come.

"A little bit at the end, but basically a little bit of a waste, because you can't really try anything.

"We'll see what happens tomorrow.

"I think the weather will be the most important thing in determining the rest of the weekend, so hopefully we'll get some running tomorrow morning and then get ready for qualifying."

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Webber: Conditions are pretty dodgy

Mark Webber says a lack of full wet tyres played a huge role in him opting not to do any serious running at Silverstone on Friday.

Under this year's regulations, all drivers have just three sets of full wet tyres for the entire race weekend.

Given that it is expected to rain on Saturday and Sunday, this meant teams were careful about using the blue-striped Pirellis in Friday's practice.

As a result, Webber covered just seven laps on Friday morning with a best time of 1:58.463.

"The conditions are pretty dodgy to say the least," he told Reuters in the break between sessions.

"We don't want to do a thousand laps today because the forecast looks pretty dodgy for the weekend and we need these tyres."

However, instead of doing even close to a thousand laps in second practice, Webber opted for just one.

With the conditions worsening and the tyre situation, only four drivers bothered to put in a lap in the first half of the session.

But with the conditions improving into the second half, Webber opted for just an installation lap before bringing his RB8 back into the pits and parking it.

His team-mate Sebastian Vettel was 13th quickest.

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Hamilton: Tyre rules must be changed

Lewis Hamilton has called on F1's powers-that-be to change the tyre regulations after the limited number of full wets meant there was little running on Friday.

With the rain coming down at Silverstone in both practice sessions on Friday, only a third of the drivers in either session completed 10 or more laps.

However, it wasn't only the weather and the fear of crashing that kept the drivers in the pits, it was also the limited number of full wet tyres.

Under F1 regulations, all drivers have three sets of full wets for the entire grand prix weekend.

This meant most teams only opted to run one set per driver, leaving the remaining two for Saturday and Sunday when more rain is forecast.

Unfortunately, the biggest losers were the fans who paid good money to watch three full hours of running on Friday.

"I think it's a real, real shame to be honest that they're just sitting there and we're not going out," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

"The problem is we don't have enough tyres and the drainage here is not that great at the track so there's lot of standing water, and obviously the weather is not spectacular.

"If we had more tyres, I think a lot more people would be out. It's a shame it's not mandatory that we have to go out."

The Brit finished Friday's running at the top of the timesheets with a 1:56.345, which put him 0.129s up on his nearest riva.

"I had some fun out there today! I got to do a good few laps too, which was good, because I was concerned that the fans wouldn't get to see much action," he said.

"There were so many of them out there today. I can't remember seeing so many people at a racetrack on a Friday before - it was incredible. British Formula 1 fans are the best in the world!"

Fun or not though, Hamilton says it was also hard work as he needed his full concentration to cope with the aquaplaning that was going on.

"There was a lot of standing water out there, and tons of aquaplaning. That's to be expected when there's heavy rain, of course," he said.

"But I have to say that there doesn't seem to be that much drainage around the circuit. You're aquaplaning almost all the time, to be honest, so you need to be very in tune with your senses or you're very likely to lose control.

"I think the drivers can probably make more of a difference in the wet than we can in the dry, so I'm really looking forward to the rest of the weekend, which looks likely to stay chilly and wet."

Hamilton, though, is not the only driver who believes teams needed more wet tyres instead of the 'free' extra set of intermediates they are given.

"It's a shame we don't have more wet tyres to be able to get more track time, but if it's going to rain for the whole weekend then everybody tries to save their allocation," said Kimi Raikkonen.

His team-mate Romain Grosjean echoed the complaint.

"I would have liked to have more track time but due to the regulations on tyres we didn't want to use up all our wet tyre allocation as more rain is expected on Saturday and Sunday," said the Frenchman.

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De la Rosa questions testing safety

Pedro de la Rosa, chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, believes that F1 needs to reconsider its safety procedures at tests after Maria De Villota's accident.

De Villota lost her right eye and remains in a stable but critical condition after colliding with the flatbed of a truck while conducting a straight-line test.

The exact details surrounding the accident remain unclear and Marussia are in the midst of conducting an investigation. However, de la Rosa feels that regardless of the outcome that the safety precautions taking in testing must be changed.

"We will put the facts on the table to see if there is anything we need to change to improve," he said.

"When an accident happens, it means that something didn't work properly.

"We need to make sure, between the FIA, the teams and the GPDA, that we make changes for the future because it's not good enough.

"The first thing we need to do is understand what happened, what safety measures were taken and how the airfield was prepared for Formula One testing."

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Kimi refuses to entertain title talk

Kimi Raikkonen has brushed aside all thoughts of mounting a title challenge for Lotus this year and said he is taking each race as it comes.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, the Finn said he felt Lotus were now on course to be challenging for the front row in qualifying and could fight for victory.

But he said: "I would rather treat it race by race and do as well as we can.

"There is still an awful long way to go and we see closer to the end of the season where we are. We are still not in the best possible position but we are not too bad.

"We just need to keep doing what we are doing, and try and avoid the bad races and hopefully we can keep ourselves there until the end of the season for it to be a possibility."

The Finn is currently sixth in the standings with 73 points, only 38 behind leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, a gap that he could close within two races if he can find the consistency that has eluded Lotus this year.

The team has been among the strongest in terms of race pace, but lowly qualifying positions have meant their chances of fighting for victory have been compromised.

Raikkonen added: "I think we have had a chance in a few races, but I haven't got the best out of it, and maybe I have made some mistakes.

"But in the last race we did pretty well as a team in qualifying and hopefully we felt a bit more comfortable to go in qualifying than ever before, especially at least me.

"Hopefully we have started to find the right direction to find those small details where we can be even more comfortable here and in the next few races."

He says he is not too disappointed.

"We try and it is disappointing if you get second and you want to win, but it is not the end of life," he said.

"We try again and we keep trying all the time. I don't get sad about it, but I am not happy because I would rather win than be second. But it is not going to destroy my life.

"I have done it before, so it is not something that I didn't achieve. We all want to win, and it will give us more points and make us better in the championships.

"It is not the happiest place to be second, but we still take it when it happens."

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Heikki: Looking good in the rain

Heikki Kovalainen reckons he's got a good set-up for Sunday's 52-lap British GP if the rain continues after finishing seventh on Friday.

With the rain bucketing down on the Northamptonshire track, Kovalainen showed some good pace on the full wet Pirelli tyres.

The Caterham driver posted a 1:58.580 during his 10 laps to finish 2.235s adrift of pace-setter Lewis Hamilton.

"I think that's the wettest day we've had in F1 for quite a while and that cut short the amount of running we could do today," he said.

"It was pretty treacherous out there in both sessions, more so in the afternoon when I was getting wheelspin at the end of the straight and when it's like that it's not worth risking the car, particularly when we have quite a lot of new parts on it that we need to take a look at as much as we can this weekend.

"As it was so wet I can't really say how much of an improvement we've made here, but this morning the car felt pretty well balanced as soon as I started to push a bit, so if it's raining like this on Sunday at least we know we have a decent set-up to race with."

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Fri: Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Marussia, HRT

Red Bull and Toro Rosso joined Marussia and HRT at the bottom of the timesheets at in a wet practice at Silverstone...

Red Bull:

Sebastian Vettel: "If there's too much standing water on track we can't go out, as we aquaplane pretty quickly. I think Senna went off and it shows how quickly it can happen. It's a real shame for the fans sitting in the grandstands waiting for the cars to come out. I feel for them. We got in a bit of running in the end, but for us it's not so useful, as you can't really try anything in these conditions. I think weather will be the most important factor in determining the rest of the weekend. Hopefully it gets a bit better tomorrow so we can get ready for qualifying."

Mark Webber: "It's a real shame for the fans today. All the drivers and everyone in the teams are thinking of them because it wasn't the best day for action, but obviously we have to have an eye on the tyres for the rest of the weekend. There's a good chance we might need them, so we had to be careful with how many laps we did. You've got to take your hat off to the spectators and the support that they showed in absolutely awful conditions. I just really hope that a lot of them are back tomorrow because we have no choice but to get on with it then!"

Toro Rosso:

Jean-Eric Vergne: "Today's practice was useful for us to get used to the very wet conditions and what direction we should be going in with the car in terms of set-up for what looks like being a very wet weekend. The times mean nothing, because the conditions were changing a lot and on my final run, the rain intensified. We had wanted to do more on the Intermediates, but the track surface was never dry enough to use them. There was not much we could in terms of improving the car, although we did make some set up changes over the course of the two sessions, even if it is hard to evaluate as the water level on the circuit was always different. The rain certainly makes the performance more even through the field, so I am expecting to have a more competitive time than in recent races."

Daniel Ricciardo: "It looks as though the rain is going to continue for much of the weekend, so today's running was valuable, even if this afternoon, it was too wet to do many laps. The morning session went quite well, running only on the Extreme tyre and that gave me the confidence in the car in these conditions to feel good about tomorrow. We also did a little bit of set-up work but we did not change much, because, in these conditions most of the time comes from yourself. In the afternoon, we did fit Intermediates, but only for a couple of "in" and "out" laps. The rain definitely evens out the performance gaps between the cars, so I'd be happy to have the rest of the weekend run in the wet."

Marussia:

Timo Glock: Still to be released

Charles Pic: Still to be released

HRT:

Narain Karthikeyan: "Today we faced typical English weather; it was a complete wash out and, as a result, we didn't complete any meaningful running. The new part of the track, which is made up of turns 1 to 5, is new to me because I didn't race here last year so we need to make sure that we get some running in before qualifying. Hopefully tomorrow we'll have the chance to do these miles to head into qualifying better prepared, where I'll be aiming to back up my good performance in Valencia."

Pedro de la Rosa: "This morning we ran in wet conditions and tested everything we wanted to do, so in the second session we didn't feel the need to take a risk since the conditions weren't the best and, besides, we've only got three sets of extreme wet tyres for the entire weekend. That's why we decided not to come out. Ahead of tomorrow's qualifying, if we face the same conditions, the important thing is to complete a clean lap, with no traffic, and not much water on track. Today we acclimatised to Silverstone in wet conditions and that was the objective."

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Fri: McLaren, Sauber, Merc, Caterham

Lewis Hamilton was quickest at a wet Silverstone ahead of Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher. Heikki Kovalainen was seventh!

McLaren:

Lewis Hamilton: "I had some fun out there today! I got to do a good few laps too, which was good, because I was concerned that the fans wouldn't get to see much action. There were so many of them out there today. I can't remember seeing so many people at a racetrack on a Friday before - it was incredible. British Formula 1 fans are the best in the world! I would like to have gone out and done even more laps - but we simply didn't have enough tyres to do that. Perhaps that's something we can look at for the future. There was a lot of standing water out there, and tons of aquaplaning. That's to be expected when there's heavy rain, of course, but I have to say that there doesn't seem to be that much drainage around the circuit. You're aquaplaning almost all the time, to be honest, so you need to be very in tune with your senses or you're very likely to lose control. I think the drivers can probably make more of a difference in the wet than we can in the dry, so I'm really looking forward to the rest of the weekend, which looks likely to stay chilly and wet."

Jenson Button: "We learned a few things today - but mainly that it's often wet at Silverstone and the fans always come out in force even when it's chucking it down! Seriously, though, I'm glad we were finally able to do some running as it hasn't been the nicest of days for them. It was very tricky out there - there was lots of standing water. You wouldn't want to be racing wheel-to-wheel in those conditions, as you wouldn't see the puddles until it was too late. I think we learned throughout the day where the biggest rivers on the circuit were situated - one of the biggest is along the Hangar Straight just before Stowe. You're travelling at 290km/h [180mph] and you hit a river that gives you wheelspin - at that speed - and when that happens your car can snap out of control very easily. When you're driving alone, it's not so bad, because you can pick your way around and lift off whenever necessary, but in the race you can't do that. So, pretty obviously, I hope there won't be as much standing water around on Sunday."

Sauber:

Kamui Kobayashi: "In wet conditions our car is quite okay, but it is difficult if not impossible to guess how it would be on a dry track here. However, the conditions are the same for everybody, so we can't complain about that. Obviously we couldn't evaluate the new parts as we had planned. In the end I took a set of intermediate tyres, but only to get a feeling for them. It was definitely too wet for them. Generally the circuit tends to develop little rivers here and there, and even on the straights you have to be very careful not to lose the car by aquaplaning. It seems we will be having a wet weekend and this might not be the worst thing for us."

Sergio Perez: "I found the day very boring. There wasn't much we could do and it was impossible to complete our test programme. However, we did some running on the wet track and our car seems to be good in these conditions."

Mercedes:

Michael Schumacher: "There are still things to be learned on days like these and the positive about today's rain was that it is also forecast for tomorrow and Sunday. This meant that we were able to use today to prepare for the race, primarily on the wet tyres. We also tried the intermediates briefly but they were no faster in these conditions. The rain was constant, which allowed us to at least complete some parts of our programme. There was a lot of standing water, but it was hard to spot from the cockpit, which meant that the drivers had to be very vigilant. Today's sessions went okay and, in any case, we know that at this circuit, with its particular characteristics, rain offers us good chances and opportunities."

Nico Rosberg: "In general, it was a good and productive day for us. We improved the set-up during the break which helped as we were quicker in the afternoon. It's very unusual that the weather forecast for the whole weekend is wet, and we didn't run that much to save our limited wet tyres. The conditions were really quite tricky out there with all the puddles, and it was very difficult to find the right limit. I hope we can continue to make progress tomorrow."

Caterham:

Heikki Kovalainen: "I think that's the wettest day we've had in F1 for quite a while and that cut short the amount of running we could do today. It was pretty treacherous out there in both sessions, more so in the afternoon when I was getting wheelspin at the end of the straight and when it's like that it's not worth risking the car, particularly when we have quite a lot of new parts on it that we need to take a look at as much as we can this weekend. As it was so wet I can't really say how much of an improvement we've made here, but this morning the car felt pretty well balanced as soon as I started to push a bit, so if it's raining like this on Sunday at least we know we have a decent setup to race with."

Vitaly Petrov: "This morning Heikki and I were running comparisons between the new exhaust layout and rear bodywork so my first taste of the new parts was in FP2 when it was even slippier out on track. Even with conditions like that we still got through a few laps and the car felt good - pretty stable, good traction and a good base for us to work from tomorrow. It would be good for everyone if it is more dry tomorrow but even if it's not we'll just have to get on with it. I like the rain so for me it's not a problem."

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Fri: Lotus, FIndia, Ferrari, Williams

There were top ten times in Friday's very wet practice for Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso...

Lotus F1:

Kimi Raikkonen: "It was wet. It's a shame we don't have more wet tyres to be able to get more track time, but if it's going to rain for the whole weekend then everybody tries to save their allocation. We were able to test certain things so it wasn't a total waste of time. It was interesting to see the new section of the track; it's only a few corners so it doesn't make too much difference to a lap. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be a bit better. Even if it is wet again, everyone will go out in practice and in qualifying so we should see a drier line emerge. When there are only a couple of cars running this doesn't happen and there's much more chance of aquaplaning, but with everyone out there it should be much better."

Romain Grosjean: "It wasn't the busiest day ever due to the weather conditions but still FP1 went well. The car looks to be good and consistent. We tested a few new aero parts which have worked pretty well. I also learnt that the old part of the circuit has a bit more grip than the new part. At the end of FP1 this morning it was incredibly wet and the same conditions at the start of FP2 so we had to wait and be patient. I would have liked to have more track time but due to the regulations on tyres we didn't want to use up all our wet tyre allocation as more rain is expected on Saturday and Sunday. We looked at putting inters on but it wasn't dry enough so we couldn't really do many laps this afternoon. The conditions were a shame for the fans out there who came to watch us today, but we always appreciate their support."

Force India:

Nico Hulkenberg: "A very limited programme today to avoid running on such a wet track with a high risk of aquaplaning. The only time we felt we could learn anything was in the final half hour of the afternoon session so we remained in the garage for most of the day. The forecast for the rest of the weekend looks very mixed so I think we have a challenging weekend ahead of us."

Paul di Resta: "Very difficult conditions today, but sometimes you get weather like this. So we had to be patient and choose our moments because the track conditions were so poor with lots of rivers running across the circuit. We didn't really change the car all day, so we will start with the same set-up tomorrow morning. I certainly feel for the fans who missed out on seeing much action today, but it was great to see so many people come along on a Friday."

Ferrari:

Fernando Alonso: "There's very little I can say this afternoon, or at least even less than usual for a Friday. We did very few laps because of the rain and the fact that, with the number of sets of rain tyres limited by the regulations, there was no sense in doing more running. Rather, it was better to save tyres, given that the forecast is definitely not encouraging, as it is meant to rain all weekend. In other circumstances, if the rest of the weekend was meant to be dry maybe, then we could have done more running, but in these conditions, as I said, that really wasn't the case. In the wet, the car seems okay, but it's practically impossible to say where we are compared to the others. Tomorrow morning, let's hope we can at least do a few laps in the dry so as to least have a rough idea of the behaviour of the Soft and Hard compounds that Pirelli has brought here. The off track moment towards the end? The car was aquaplaning and it got away from me. A shame about the front wing and now we must see if we can repair it."

Felipe Massa: "The weather made this a difficult day. It rained all the time and upset our workload therefore we decided therefore to do only a little running to save tyres for tomorrow and Sunday. Obviously this meant we were not able to test the way we wanted, especially when it came to the small updates we have brought to this Grand Prix. I did only three timed laps, so it's impossible to say anything about how the F2012 is behaving on this track. Tomorrow, regardless of the conditions, we will try and do more laps to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race. We will try and do what we can."

Williams:

Pastor Maldonado: "We didn't get chance to do a lot of running today but everybody is in the same situation. We didn't try too many things with the set-up today but we used the time to see how the track conditions were. There was a lot of aquaplaning, but the car feels quite good despite not getting the chance to run on a wet set-up. If it's like this all weekend, we'll just need to make some decisions tomorrow ahead of qualifying."

Bruno Senna: "Unfortunately we didn't have a very productive day in the end. The weather was poor weather with puddles on the track during second practice. On my second run, I aquaplaned on some deep water at the high speed Becketts section of the track and from that point was I a passenger until the car hit the wall. It was quite a heavy accident but I am ok. There is a lot of damage to the car but the Williams team will, I'm sure, do a great job of getting it back into shape for tomorrow."

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De Villota undergoes further facial surgery

Maria de Villota has undergone further surgery on Friday to address her facial injuries, following her testing accident on Tuesday.

The Spaniard, who lost her right eye and suffered life threatening injuries, has responded well to treatment according to her doctors, and was passed well enough to undergo further surgery.

A Marussia statement confirmed the operation went ahead successfully.

"Earlier today, Maria underwent further surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. This was a planned procedure that would depend upon the continued stability of Maria's head injuries, and this morning the medical team were sufficiently happy with her progress to allow the operation to go ahead," it read.

"Earlier today, the surgeons successfully completed the next phase of surgery required to address Maria's facial injuries. After the lengthy initial procedure, which commenced on Tuesday and concluded on Wednesday, today's secondary operation took significantly less time.

"Since the operation today, Maria's condition in relation to the head trauma she received has further improved, to the extent that she is now 'serious but stable'.

"Whilst Maria remains acutely ill, this confirms that she has been responding well to the treatment she has received since her accident. Coupled with the significant progress that has been made with regard to her facial injuries, we feel sufficiently comfortable to proceed with a further update.

"On a more personal note, we have taken a great deal of encouragement from today's developments and the rather more positive signs for Maria's family."

In tribute to Maria, the majority of the grid is sporting 'Maria Stars' on their car or helmet this weekend.

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Silverstone Friday practice picures:

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Silverstone insists British Grand Prix will go ahead in spite of weather chaos

Silverstone's organisers insist there are no question marks about the British Grand Prix going ahead as planned on Sunday, despite the major problems caused by the weather.

In light of the breakdown of the traffic system on Friday, caused by car parks and campsites getting washed out, British GP chiefs have already advised fans with public parking to stay away from qualifying day.

With further poor weather predicted over the weekend, and Jenson Button suggesting that the race could not go ahead if the rain was as bad on Sunday as it was on the opening day of practice, there is the possibility of the situation not improving by then.

But Silverstone's managing director Richard Phillips believed the circuit itself was holding up well to the challenges of the weather, and hoped that emergency measures being put in place on Saturday would help ease matters for the big day.

When asked if there was any threat to the circuit or the race going ahead, Phillips said: "No. It was a bit slippery out there today, maybe because of all that rain but there is pretty good drainage on the circuit and that goes into a different sort of system anyway. There is a big lake out there that is connected all around the circuit."

Phillips said that he had never known a situation like the one Silverstone has faced this year - even though the scenes were similar to what the venue experienced in 2000.

"I have been 30 years doing this," he explained. "I have had some interesting situations with fans being chased around in Italy by police, and fans rioting - but I have never had a weather situation quite like this one."

He added: "I wasn't here in 2000. I would say thank God, so this is my 2000 I guess... I am not sure they did enough planning in 2000. We did a lot of planning for this. And 40mm of rain in 12 hours is not easy to cope with."

Phillips suggested that the troubles Silverstone has faced in dealing with the traffic was proof of why the track had been looking for backers to help fund an improvement in facilities.

"This is why we have been looking for an investor for a long time to see if we can, you know... we've done what we can over the last 10 years to build the event up and I was very proud of it and I'm still very proud of it. But I am a bit sick today."

A clearly emotional Phillips also expressed deep regret to fans for what had happened.

"I unreservedly apologise to people," he said on Friday night. "I feel very responsible for it. This is something I have been very proud of over the years and I feel I could almost cry now."

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Fernando Alonso shocked by Maria de Villota accident

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has said he was "completely shocked" by the accident in which Marussia test driver Maria de Villota lost her right eye.

De Villota, 32, is in "critical but stable" condition in hospital after crashing into a lorry at a test on Tuesday.

Marussia have not revealed the cause of the accident.

"Obviously we are all very worried about the situation and are waiting for more news," Alonso said.

"We don't know the situation but it is difficult to imagine how this can happen."

Alonso, the world championship leader, is Spanish, like De Villota, and revealed earlier this week that he had spoken to her family during the aftermath of the crash.

Marussia announced on Wednesday that De Villota had an overnight operation on Tuesday to repair a fractured skull.

There has so far been no further update on her condition but her sister Isabel released a statement on Thursday thanking everyone for their support.

"We, the family, are supporting each other here at Maria's side and we take great comfort from the remarkable medical care she has been receiving," said the statement.

"We remain positive and this is due, in no small part, to the overwhelming expression of love and support for Maria from every corner of the world. We would also wish to thank everyone at the Marussia F1 Team for all the care and attention they have shown us over the past few days."

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton added: "I don't know her personally but when I read about it I was absolutely devastated for her and her family, absolutely tragic. The team and I send our wishes to her and hope she has a speedy recovery."

Felipe Massa has drawn upon his own experience of being involved in a Formula 1 accident to offer support for de Villota.

The Ferrari driver was injured during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix three years ago, when a spring broke loose from the car of compatriot Rubens Barrichello and struck him on the helmet.

"She has my full support because I've been in a similar position. Thank God nothing happened to me," said the Brazilian.

"I really hope everything will be OK for her and for her to live her life in the way she deserves.

"My accident happened on track so it's different. The most important thing is that the FIA understands what happened. We need to make it the maximum safe we can. She has all my positive thoughts that everything will be OK."

Pedro de la Rosa, chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association who strive to improve safety added: "We will put the facts on the table to see if there is anything we need to change to improve.

"When an accident happens, it means that something didn't work properly.

"The first thing we need to do is understand what happened, what safety measures were taken and how the airfield was prepared for Formula One testing."

De Villota failed to stop in the makeshift pit at a straight-line test at a Cambridgeshire airfield and hit the tailgate of a lorry that had been left in the down position.

The team say they are conducting an investigation into what happened and will reveal more information at a later date.

[MIKA27]

ALONSO GRABS FIRST POLE FOR TWO YEARS AS BRITISH STARS STRUGGLE IN RAIN:

Fernando Alonso survived a spin in Q1, a yellow flag in Q2 and picked the right moment in Q3 to set the pole lap for the British Grand Prix.

It was the Spaniard’s first pole position since Singapore 2010, as he edged out Mark Webber by 5/100ths of a second with Michael Schumacher third.

In a rain delayed qualifying session Alonso used all his experience and guile to be in the right place at the right time to take his 21st pole position. During the 10 minute final shoot out the timesheets changed constantly with Webber, Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton each holding provisional pole.

Hamilton faded however; he could not match the pace he had shown in Q2 and ended the session in 8th place. The McLaren team’s fortune was even worse with Jenson Button, who struggled with front tyre warm up on wet tyres in Q1 and ended the session in 18th place, his worst of 2012.

The rain delay came during Q2, lasting almost two hours. FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting was concerned about aquaplaning on the standing water.

When the cars went back out on track the conditions were treacherous but improving, with track position being the key to making it into Q3.

As the cars re-emerged for the final 6 minutes times dropped immediately with every car improving their previous time, making for a mighty scrap to find good track position as the chequered flag was dropped. Hamilton managed to claim the top spot at the climax of the session as Alonso and Vettel scraped through in the dying seconds, with their place in the final shoot-out being made secure by Romain Grosjean who spun in to the gravel at the final corner and ceased any chance of progression for those outside the top ten.

The beginning of Q3 saw the teams split on tyre choice, some opting for extreme wets whilst the majority chose the intermediate compound; the latter proved to be best suited to the drying track. Alonso looked threatening throughout the final ten minutes and used his ever wearing intermediate tyres to suit the track conditions.

Behind the top 3, Sebastian Vettel had a fairly quiet session and put in a late flying lap to join Schumacher on the second row. Felipe Massa had a very good session, although he was 1.3 seconds off Alonso, taking 5th place and managing to keep his nose clean in the terrible conditions. He is to be joined on the third row by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn putting in a very solid performance, considering he had no KERS for the duration of qualifying.

Pastor Maldonado once again proved his prowess for qualifying, jointing Hamilton on row four in 7th place.

The final top ten places were filled by Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean. However, Hulkenberg will receive a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Whilst Grosjean did not run in the final part of qualifying as he beached his car in the final seconds of Q2 and had to be rescued by the marshals.

Nico Rosberg was third in Q2 before the rain delay and didn’t get back into the groove, he exited the session in 13th place. However, due to grid penalties for Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi, he will begin the race in 11th position with an extra set of intermediate tyres should the conditions allow it.

Alonso almost exited in Q2 as well, he was outside the top ten when he came across the zone of Romain Grosjean’s spin, but examinations of the data showed that he did slow down in that sector.

Someone who is sure to be disappointed is Sergio Perez, topping the timesheets in Q2 before the rain delay but finding himself down in 17th place by the end of the session.

The promised rain chose to play mind games with the Formula One paddock; staying dry all day until just ten minutes prior to the qualifying session meaning that all cars used the intermediate tyre in Q1. With the threat of more rain the first phase of qualifying became very chaotic as the showers briefly stopped and the track began to dry. And this stop in the rain proved crucial as a short burst of heavy rain fell with five minutes remaining meaning that no cars would improve for the remainder of the session, and therefore with Jenson Button sat in 18th place at this time he was the biggest loser as he would be unable to improve on his position. Although, the Briton chose to try his luck on a final set of intermediates and was set to reach Q2 were it not for yellow flags in the final sector of his final lap.

BRITISH GRAND PRIX, Silverstone, Qualifying

1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m51.746s

2. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m51.793s + 0.047

3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m52.020s + 0.274

4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m52.199s + 0.453

5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m53.065s + 1.319

6. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1m53.290s + 1.544

7. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m53.539s + 1.793

8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m53.543s + 1.797

9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m54.382s + 2.636

10. Romain Grosjean Lotus no time

Q2 cut-off time: 1m56.931s Gap **

11. Paul di Resta Force India 1m57.009s + 2.112

12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m57.071s + 2.174

13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m57.108s + 2.211

14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m57.132s + 2.235

15. Bruno Senna Williams 1m57.426s + 2.529

16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1m57.719s + 2.822

17. Sergio Perez Sauber 1m57.895s + 2.998

Q1 cut-off time: 1m47.105s Gap *

18. Jenson Button McLaren 1m48.044s + 1.765

19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1m49.027s + 2.748

20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1m49.477s + 3.198

21. Timo Glock Marussia 1m51.618s + 5.339

22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1m52.742s + 6.463

23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1m53.040s + 6.761

24. Charles Pic Marussia 1m54.143s + 7.864

[MIKA27]

Saturday's FIA press conference

Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher faced the media after qualifying for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Q. Fernando first pole since 2010, very difficult to get it right today, especially with that long delay in Q2. What was the secret though at the end?

Fernando Alonso: No secret. I think it's tricky conditions for everyone. You have to be calm in some difficult moments. In Q2, as you mentioned, we were at the red flag, in position 15 and 16, Felipe and me. It was not easy, so we went through Q2 and in Q3 difficult choice between extreme and intermediate tyres. We chose the intermediates and when we saw everyone planning on those tyres we more or less calmed down a little bit. And then we put a lap together, which is not easy. You make a little mistake here or there and to complete a lap without making a huge mistake is not easy in these conditions. Yeah, happy with pole position after nearly two years, for Ferrari that's a long time and we'll see. Tomorrow is the race and with these weather conditions the qualifying becomes one of the less important qualifyings of the year because everything will mix up after a few laps tomorrow maybe, but for visibility and things like that it's always better to start at the front, so very happy.

Q. Mark, a great duel between you and Fernando at the end there. You missed out on pole by five one hundredths of a second - it's always good to compete against this guy [Alonso] yes?

Mark Webber: Yeah, it was a very tight session. Ultimately, you don't know how you're going, you're completely focused on yourself, putting a lap together. As Fernando said it's very tricky in sections around the lap. Obviously, in a session like this when you've got five or 10 seconds sometimes between one session to the next session obviously it's a huge amount down to the driver to get comfortable in the conditions, also with the car. The guys did a great job. Yeah it was nip and tuck with Fernando for the pole. I think ultimately we put a pretty good lap together, our strategy in quali I was pretty happy with it, doing four laps... and race tomorrow.

Q. Michael, another strong qualifying for you. You used to be known as the rain meister, how do you fancy your chances tomorrow in a wet British Grand Prix?

Michael Schumacher: I think we look reasonably competitive in wet conditions - either on intermediate or heavy wet - so therefore rain is welcome tomorrow. It was a bit of an exciting session today, particularly Q2 where I had the wrong visor on, that didn't have anti-fog. I didn't have much visibility and found myself sideways in Becketts. That didn't help either. But we recovered well in the delay and got back in our rhythm. Yeah, very happy to be third; good for the team; good for my boys, so thanks to all of the guys.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Fernando, first of all well done, is it a surprise or did you feel it was a lottery a little bit out there in the conditions?

FA: It's always a surprise to be on pole position because you know that conditions in qualifying... it's always difficult to beat some of the guys around and we maybe feel more confident in dry conditions. We did some tests today in FP3 and the car felt quite good in the high-speed corners and we were quite happy with the balance - but in wet conditions you never know. You need to be in the right place in the right moment, with the circuit in the best conditions possible when you do the lap and that lap has to be clean with not huge mistakes because a little bit here and there you always lose or you can improve a little bit because you never know exactly the conditions of the next corner when you arrive on a day like today. It can be a little bit drier than the lap before but we saw some drops of rain on the visors so it can be a little bit wetter so it's a little bit of... gambling what would be the grip at the next corner. To put the lap together was the only thing we had to do today and when you find yourself in pole position, for sure it's a little bit surprising but, yeah, good to battle like this.

Q. It was nearly all over in the first part of Q2, wasn't it - at one point you were facing the wall?

FA: Yes. I had a spin in Turn 13. It was a lot of aquaplaning there. We changed tyres, we went for the extreme tyres and there was a red flag. It was impossible to run, to be honest it was a good decision. And then also it was a good decision waiting for the time the circuit was in condition to run again. So, sometimes we criticise the decisions when we are not happy with them and today they were doing a really good job. The first priority is safety, the track was not in condition to continue qualifying and we wait the necessary time to do it and we've been at the limit for Q3, I think P9, so it was not easy. I had a Toro Rosso for two laps in front of me with no visibility, so the Q2 lap was a little bit like a blind lap: you do whatever time the Toro Rosso will do - more or less.

Q. How big a moment was it on the grass when you went off in Q2? You got a round of applause in the press room for sorting it out...

<FA: It was very big and you are not in control of the car. You need a bit of luck and we were lucky today. With that moment in Q2, with all the decisions that we make for the tyres that it was the right one - and lucky also that we put the lap together and lucky as well in the distance with Mark because there were some milliseconds. It can be first and second in a very easy way and today it was everything perfect for us. But the race is tomorrow, not today.

Q. Mark, for you pole last year and you won in 2010, you've been on the podium for the last three years. A good circuit for you? You seem to have adapted very well to the British weather...

MW: It's been a good track for me since 1995 when I won my first Formula Ford race here - so it goes back quite a while - don't want to show my age too much! But yeah, it's a good track, it's challenging for the drivers and it's nice to let the car breathe a little bit in some of the quick stuff. Obviously this morning it was nice to feel the car in dry conditions, obviously we didn't get that in quali - and as Fernando's touched on, it was a very tricky session for us when the track's moving around by five, six seconds a go in terms of conditions. Each session is tricky for us. But the guys made all the right decisions. There were a few calls from the cockpit as well to pull things together and ultimately I think we got the maximum out of what we could have done today. As Fernando says, it's a long lap to put together; there are rivers, you can improve here and there but also if you try to push a bit harder you can have no corners on the car. So it's better to try to finish the lap and get yourself up there. Risk management was very important today. I'm very happy with my lap and ultimately we're in a good position to start the race tomorrow. Visibility will be important if it's wet, and go from there.

Q. Michael, pole in 2001 of course and three wins here, how difficult was it to get going again after that hour delay? 60 minutes of delay...

MS: I guess first of all we should give applause to all the fans who remained with us in all these conditions. That's been pretty special and big applause to them. For us, in the position that some cars had been, you would probably have wished just to finish qualifying there. The ones that would have been out, Fernando and myself, we were happy to get this opportunity under drivable conditions because Q2, when it started, almost from the beginning it was already on the limit, if not slightly over the limit, and therefore thanks to the FIA to take the right decision and abort it and put it into a spot that was probably the only one - and a perfect one - that was available today. For us to get going, it's not that big a deal. It's worse hanging around and waiting. It's more tiring than driving and sitting in the car and being in action, that's pretty straightforward to me.

Q. How difficult was the tyre choice?

MS: I think it was only initially difficult to decide but when you give it a second and watch what others do then it becomes pretty straightforward. By the end it was clear the inter was the tyre to be on. Ideally you would have had more than one lap - because it was the last lap that counted and obviously you're not allowed to make a mistake so you always somewhere leave some margin, that another lap for sure you could recover and do a much better job. Nevertheless, to then finish third was good for us. I'm pleased with this, it's a good position to start the race from. It's a good line and, depending on the condition we have tomorrow, maybe I'm on the lucky side because it might be the slightly drier line compared to the inner side that's a little bit wet. We'll find out tomorrow if that's the case or not the case - but that expedition will be very much appreciated to me.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Mike Doodson - Honorary) Michael, some of your most memorable wins have been in the wet. This circuit has a reputation for holding water. It did take a very long time to drain. Do you have any criticisms either of that or of the fact that the circuit is unpredictable from place to place as you go along, perhaps less predictable where you've won in the wet before?

MS: First of all, a compliment to all the marshals, they managed to get the track in pretty good shape with all the sweeping and drying up. There was almost no standing water when we went back out again. That was a good job, so in case of heavy rain tomorrow, I hope they're going to be ready, in between the safety car or whatever they have to decide. But I think on some circuits they have that situation and they did the best from what was available today.

Q. (Manuel Franco - AS) Fernando, you said in Spanish that this pole is dedicated to someone special, is it for Maria de Villota?

FA: Yes, obviously she's having some difficult moments, her family as well and I think all of us, this weekend, we are all racing with a little bit of sadness about the news at the beginning of the week from Marussia and from her. Anything we do this weekend hopefully will bring strength to her and her family, and we wish her a very good recovery.

Q. (Leonid Novozhilov - F1Life) Fernando, first place in qualifying in the rain; was this difficult or not very difficult for you?

FA: Yes, yes, it is very difficult, always very difficult to be on pole position, but on days like today, it's difficult for everyone. I think from pole position to 24th, we had a very difficult time in the car, because, as I said, you don't know how the grip will be in the next corner. We had a lot of rivers on the track, especially in Q2 and it's not just to find the last tenth or half a tenth of a second; just to complete the lap is difficult. Very stressful qualifying, but it's the same for everybody and today we have been lucky, as I said.

Q. (Carlos Miguel - La Gaceta) Fernando, for tomorrow, will it be difficult for you on intermediate tyres and what are you afraid of in the race?

FA: Well, I think the car should also be competitive on extreme wet tyres, but as I said, in Q2 I did a lap exactly the same as a Toro Rosso whatever the lap. I started the lap one second behind him and I finished the lap around 0.8s behind him, and I was in and he was out, for virtually nothing. So I think with normal visibility, I think we should also be competitive with the extremes. For sure ideally we would like a dry race because you maximise the pole position a little bit and you have a bit of free air, especially in the first stint if you do a good start. If it's wet or changeable conditions as we've the whole weekend, grid positions are not really important, because on lap eight it could start raining or drying up or whatever and someone at the back may have nothing to lose and could maybe change tyres or whatever and finds himself first or second. It's more difficult but let's see. I think we felt competitive on the dry, inters and wet so we will see tomorrow what we can do.

Q. (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) How do you prepare yourself for a race which could be very wet? Is there a way of thinking differently, or driving differently for the whole of a wet race?

MW: Obviously the concentration is a little bit different to a dry Grand Prix, so you've got to have that in mind. Some of the straights here are not very straightforward in terms of... like out of turn seven, going through there with compromised visibility, standing water, so dry Grands Prix still obviously require immense concentration and focus to put everything together but in the wet you have more balls in the air and you need to be ready for that and also be flexible and focused and I said before, controlled aggression and stay composed. You know that the grass doesn't have much grip so best stay away from that if you can and get to the flag.

Q. (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, we saw you take the P9 position in Q2 when there were yellow flags for Grosjean. Could you explain what happened at that moment, if you feel that you're safe(from incurring any penalty)?

FA: Yes. I didn't set a green sector in that particular lap with the yellow. I backed off in the area where they were taking away the car, so I don't have any worries.

Q. I've been asked to ask you is if any of you will be following Wimbledon after the race tomorrow?

FA: No.

MW: Absolutely. Federer for seven, honestly it's a great final. Whoever wins it's a great story. Obviously for Andy, first Grand Slam, first Wimbledon and for Roger, obviously he's a phenomenal sportsman, to match Pistol Pete (Sampras) on seven. He's a real inspiration, Federer. He would be good to watch.

MS: What time is it? I would like to watch it if I have time, but I would prefer not to have time!

Q. (Marco dell'Ignocenti - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Could you not imagine that if the weather conditions and track conditions were similar tomorrow to today, would you not fear a very boring race behind the safety car?

MS: In that case we're going to watch Federer and Murray!

FA: Hopefully not, not only for us, I think, but for the Fans. As Michael said, they've been amazing all weekend with these weather conditions and they deserve a normal race tomorrow, so even if it's wet, not stopping the race or nothing like that, hopefully.

MW: Charlie (Whiting, race director) has learned a lot in the last few years and has done a very good job in certain conditions, so he know what wet tyres are capable of, the extreme, also Factor in the visibility so they are the two main things: standing water and visibility. If they are under control then we race, if they're not then we don't. After that, we work through the tyres and the race is OK. Tomorrow is obviously a big day for Charlie tomorrow to communicate with us like he does a good job over the last few years, no problems.

Q. (Silva Arias - Argentina) Fernando, it's very nice for you as well to get pole position after two years, as you said before. How important is it for your team as well and for your confidence and everything?

FA: Yeah, yeah, definitely very important. It's nice to be on pole position. We know that the conditions were not normal. They were very tricky so we are still aiming for pole position one day on a sunny day and no factors around which will prove the level of competitiveness that the car can have and that's what we want, but until that point arrives, today's pole position is very welcome and as I said, it's more for the history of Ferrari etc. Two years is a long time.

Q. (Michael Schmidt - Auto, Motor und Sport) Michael, you were looking strong yesterday in the wet today as well. This morning, at least from the lap time it was a different picture. Is it just an impression that the Mercedes is better in the wet and if so why?

MS: The question is how much fuel was in the cars this morning, so I think it is a hypopthetical situation, to judge what you have seen in qualifying with what you have seen this morning.

[MIKA27]

Vettel: British GP could be a lottery

Sebastian Vettel fears if the rain pours on Sunday as it did in qualifying, the British GP could be more of a "lottery" than a race.

The conditions at the Silverstone circuit on Saturday were so appalling that race director Charlie Whiting was forced to red-flag qualifying for more than an hour.

The session was halted during Q2, which once underway was topped by Vettel ahead of his team-mate Mark Webber.

However, the German was not able to carry that pace through to the final segment and eventually finished fourth, 0.453s off the pace.

"It could be a big lottery just like today with conditions like that," said Vettel.

"It will be a tough day. Now it's raining again and it's probably the same weather tomorrow. It will be a long race."

Vettel added that he could have been quicker in Q3 and posed a great threat on pole position had it not been for a few mistakes in the treacherous conditions.

"Unfortunately in the end it was quite difficult with only one lap when the conditions were probably best," he told Autosport.

"Not ideal for us in terms of traffic but the lap I had was clean. I had some mistakes. It's the same for all of us. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

[MIKA27]

Button: All good except for Q1

Jenson Button has found arguably the one positive he can from his Q1 demise at Silverstone, saying at least it saved him tyres.

Button, who was second quickest in the dry in Saturday's final practice, failed to shine when the rain came down later in the day.

Lacking the pace needed on the Pirelli intermediates, Button was down in 18th place with two minutes remaining in Q1.

The Brit pitted for a new set of intermediates and managed to cross the line in time to start a flying lap.

And although he was up on the time needed to make it into Q2 by a full second through the second sector, rain and yellow flags cost him dearly in the final sector and he lost three seconds.

"Everything about today has been great apart from Q1," Button told Sky Sports F1. "Meh, (I'm) used to it now.

"We don't get many tyres so this could be a good thing. If tomorrow is wet, which we think it will be, we haven't done too many miles on the tyres, whereas these guys are going round for two more sessions.

"At the end I was 1.8 seconds up on my personal best, but there was yellow flags in the final sector, but it was also strangely wet in the final sector.

"It is strange because I can usually drive a car in the wet."

[MIKA27]

Sauber: We made the wrong decision

Sauber were left to rue the decision to send their drivers out on intermediate tyres, which cost them dearly in qualifying at Silverstone.

Although Sergio Perez was on provisional pole, such as it was, for more than an hour on Saturday due to a red flag stoppage in Q2, the Mexican driver was down in 17th place when the session was over.

Believing the conditions to have cleared up enough, Sauber had sent Perez and his team-mate Kamui Kobayashi out on the intermediate tyres for the final six minutes of Q2 while their rivals opted for the wets.

"We made the wrong decision when we went for intermediates instead of rain tyres after the break, but I also had traffic," said Perez.

"I was driving behind Daniel Ricciardo and could hardly see anything.

"It is such a shame because we clearly had the pace to fight for a top position here.

"However, we made a mistake and now have to try hard to recover from that in the race."

Kobayashi, who is facing a five-place penalty for crashing into Felipe Massa at the previous race in Valencia, finished in 12th place.

"We started on intermediate tyres after the break and this proved to be the wrong decision," he said.

"I pitted and changed to rain tyres, but then I only had time for one flying lap and in the difficult conditions this wasn't enough to improve as much as I needed to make it into Q3.

"Before that we had a very good chance of fighting for a top position. Our pace was really good in the wet. It is a missed opportunity.

"For tomorrow's race I don't really care whether it's wet or dry. I'll be starting a long way down the grid and will fight as hard as I can."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton confused by lack of intermediate pace

Lewis Hamilton was left confused as to why he lacked pace on the intermediate tyres after showing promising pace in the second part of qualifying on the full wet.

The McLaren driver will start a disappointing eighth to compound a bad day for McLaren which saw Jenson Button fail to even reach Q2.

Hamilton couldn't explain why he was over two seconds slower than Fernando Alonso who qualified on pole in the wet conditions.

"I don't really know what happened in Q3," he said. "The full wets had been working really well, but, as the track gradually became less wet, I sought better grip and switched to the Intermediates - but we struggled to get enough temperature into them and just couldn't switch them on.

"So I had very little grip on the inters, having felt more confident on the full wets; obviously, we'll have to try to analyse the problem overnight and hopefully fix it for tomorrow."

The 27-year-old is more hopeful for Sunday's race, which he's hoping the weather

Looking ahead to Sunday, Hamilton is hopeful that the weather will allow him to fight those ahead.

"I want to give a shout-out to the fans. They've been fantastic: very patient and so supportive. The cheers from the grandstands were spectacular. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a car on the front row for them, but we can still push tomorrow.

"Although eighth position isn't the best place from which to be starting, it's going to be a tough race and we're not that far away."

[MIKA27]

Silverstone welcomes all Sunday ticket holders

Silverstone has thanked those fans that stayed at home on Saturday and has issued a further statement welcoming all ticket holders on Sunday.

The race organisers made the difficult decision to request those travelling by car to the circuit itself, not to attend on Saturday following poor weather which, combined with excessive traffic on Friday, left car parks in an unsafe state.

However with slightly drier conditions and time to repair the fields, Silverstone believes they are in a position to accomodate all 135,000 spectators.

"Silverstone would like to thank fans that heeded the circuit's advice on Friday evening and did not come to the Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix on Saturday," said a Silverstone statement.

"While it was an extremely difficult decision, and one that will have disappointed people that had to stay away, the decision gave the circuit a fighting chance to repair and get previously unsafe car parks into a state that can be used on race day.

"The circuit has implemented further contingency plans throughout Friday night and Saturday. As a result, it is now in a stronger position to accommodate all ticket holders coming to Silverstone on Sunday."

[MIKA27]

'If you said to me all the drivers are free, I'd say: Send in Lewis'

Frank Williams reveals Lewis Hamilton would be his dream driver as he oversees a revival in his team's F1 fortunes

Frank Williams talks so softly, and with such biting honesty and humour, that it feels imperative to sit so close to him that his hands involuntarily brush mine when he becomes animated. Before Sunday's British Grand Prix, with his first involvement in the race occurring in 1969, Williams raises an amused eyebrow in his wheelchair. His cars have started, he suggests, 43 previous British grands prix.

"It's something like that," he says, scrunching up his face in disdain at the passing years. There is so much clatter around us while we sit in his team's bustling motorhome that I'm compelled to hold a tiny recorder right under the mouth of an amusing and gently acerbic man. Williams does not seem to mind the enforced intimacy and he reacts with winning candour – even when confronted by a banal question.

Asked if he is optimistic about his team's prospects at Silverstone, especially in the wake of their first grand prix victory in eight years, Williams offers a crinkly smile. "I'm never that optimistic because life is cruel. Just when you think, 'woaah, you've got to watch this!' it all goes wrong. If you're an athlete you are in control of yourself and your fate is down to you. But, in Formula One, we have so many links in the chain and you only need one link to go wrong. There's always a lot to worry about."

Williams has suffered life's cruelties in graphic ways. The death of his first driver, Piers Courage, at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1970 marked him for life – and yet the loss of Ayrton Senna, 24 years later, proved still more haunting. And between those tragedies, in March 1986, Williams sustained the spinal-cord injury that paralysed him, in a car accident. Yet, as Ron Dennis, his former counterpart at McLaren, famously remarked, Williams became still more dangerous to his opponents. As a quadriplegic, Williams had more time to think and plot the supremacy of a team that won nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships between 1980 and 1997.

That sustained success has made the past decade hard to bear. It is startling to be reminded that, before victory this May in Barcelona, 132 races had passed without a win for Williams. And yet this quintessential British team has retained an almost unprecedented popularity within the usually bitter paddock. There was genuine delight that Williams had won again when Pastor Maldonado took the chequered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix. "I was aware of it," Williams says of that warm affection, "but I never take it for granted." The 70-year-old racing man looks up from his stationary place and his eyes sparkle. "You know," he murmurs, "someone once said that assumption is the mother of all ****-ups. It's a great line, but it's also true. It sums up Formula One. You can take nothing for granted. Maybe if you're Red Bull or McLaren you can say, on a Saturday night: 'Well, we should have at least one car in the top three tomorrow.' But even then you cannot be entirely sure. I learnt that years ago."

When Maldonado crossed the line in Barcelona, and Williams had their first win since 2004, their team principal felt drained. "There was only relief," he says. "Relief that the car had won again after such a long time. And then came the worry that we keep it up and do it again. That's why there's been no complacency since then."

As has happened so often with Williams during his tumultuous life, the relief did not last. Just as he had finished talking to his jubilant team, who had gathered around his wheelchair in Barcelona, Williams noticed an ominous sign. "Smoke came billowing out of the back of the garage. It was a lot of black smoke and we had to move quickly." The fire that engulfed the Williams garage soon after Maldonado's unexpected triumph left 31 people in need of medical treatment. But there were no fatalities – and, fortunately, only one serious burns-related injury to a team member. As his recovery continues, so his boss has been able to reflect on the reasons for a return to form. "We've acquired several good people who have made a real difference," Williams explains.

Mike Coughlan, the new chief designer, had been suspended from Formula One after his involvement in the Spygate scandal while working for McLaren in 2007. Over the past 14 months, Coughlan has set about restoring his reputation. Mark Gillan, chief operations engineer since last September, has also improved communication between the factory and the team. "The company is now in good hands, with Mike leading the design and Mark in charge of racing operations," Williams says. "They're helping us regain our momentum."

Williams have also benefited from two mature men – if still relatively inexperienced F1 drivers – in Maldonado and Bruno Senna. "Pastor is a character in his quiet way. He can seem happy-go-lucky, but he spends a lot of time with the engineers and he's deeply sincere and devoted to racing. All the mechanics communicate well with him and he's a major contributor [to Williams' resurgence]. He's 27 and maturity is very important."

Senna, at 28, has had to overcome the burden of his near-mythic name and memories of his uncle's imperious ability. "It's not because he has the same name or even the same talent as Ayrton," Williams says of Bruno, who has scored 16 points to Maldonado's 29 this season. "Bruno was just a good candidate and a very intelligent person. There were no negatives – just some good, positive reasons to say: 'Yes, let's give him a go.'"

His uncle, however, remains Williams' favourite driver. The poignance of that choice is accentuated by the fact Ayrton Senna, a three-times world champion and one of the greatest racers who ever lived, died in only his third race in a Williams car. At the San Marino Grand Prix, on 1 May 1994, Senna's car suffered a suspected steering-column failure. Williams and his chief engineer, the exemplary Adrian Newey, were later charged with manslaughter. The allegations were eventually quashed, but the impact of Senna's death can still be seen on Williams's face.

"Ayrton Senna was a great man," he says. "He was public property and immensely popular. It was just a very sad day for millions of people. I was very emotional about it because it was one of our cars and he was such a special person. He was immensely charming, but also tough, ruthless and brilliantly gifted. And it just destroyed him."

For the next 17 years, every Williams car carried the letter "S" in tribute to Ayrton Senna. This season, as Williams says with a tangled smile, "we've dropped that. It's time. And, also, we've now got Bruno."

At the outset of his career, in the early 1970s, Williams was reduced to carrying out a chunk of his F1 business while using a public telephone booth. "There was a bit of that," he cackles, "because in the old days we didn't have television coverage or the revenue that brings. It was very hard work and hand-to-mouth stuff."

In 1977, Williams and his chief engineer, Patrick Head, took over an empty carpet warehouse in Didcot and transformed their struggling team. Describing Head as "a complete guiding light", Williams suggests his old ally still assists him, despite his retirement last year. "Patrick can say, 'if I were you I'd do it like this rather than like that'."

Williams himself is no longer a board member of his own company. His daughter, Claire, has replaced him, but he remains the team principal. "I'd rather not be reminded that I'm 70. But I am. On the other hand, I'm too busy to worry about it."

In a similar vein, his wife, Ginny, who sits at his side just before our interview, remembers that when Williams was paralysed he stared up at her from his hospital bed. He told her he'd had 43 years of a fantastic life – and he would look forward to another 40-odd years of a different life. "I said something like that," Williams nods, before almost snorting at himself. "I meant it at the time, but I soon changed my mind."

That self-deprecation cannot mask his consuming desire to compete in the brutal business of Formula One. "I'm at work every day of the week because there is a lot to do and I love F1. I'm just not ready to make a dramatic change in my life – like staying at home."

The British Grand Prix, which Williams has won 10 times, is always an emotion-packed race for him, especially because it marked his first victory. "I found it overwhelming," he says of Clay Regazzoni's win in 1979. "I'm not an emotional person, but it was an unforgettable experience. It was truly heartwarming and, even if I say it myself, a popular win. It really was a turning point for Williams."

Maldonado's win in Barcelona might be another turning point. As the past merges with the present, and Williams compares drivers then and now, there is a familiar slice of good-natured cheek in him. "Ayrton Senna," he says again when asked to name the best driver he has ever seen. "Alan Jones [who won Williams's first drivers' championship in 1980] was also special. He was a very funny guy. Tough but immensely skilled. He won the championship and then he just pissed around. He could have won again and again. He was that good. But he was the kind of person who said, 'been there, done that'.

"Today, [sebastian] Vettel is very good. And Lewis [Hamilton]. If you said to me that all the drivers today are free and they're all desperate to get into Williams, I would say: 'Send in Lewis.' I'd say that because he's English and a winner. Lewis? I'd take him any time!"

Hamilton, of course, was among the many who entered the Williams garage to offer his congratulations in Barcelona. The old knight of the track nods at the reminder – but his eyes glitter more with a devilish desire to attract drivers of Hamilton's calibre again. "What we need is a faster racing car," Williams says. "That does not necessarily come from a big bank balance – but from a real brain-box. We're certainly getting there now."

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN UNDER PRESSURE AGAIN ON TYRE STOPS:

Despite setting the fastest time this season for a pit stop, with a 2.4 second stop in Valencia, McLaren has had its fair share of problems this season in the pits.

And in today’s British Grand Prix they will be under pressure again as they will be using a stand in on the right rear corner of the car after the regular mechanic was injured in Valencia during the safety car period stop which went wrong for the team and lost Hamilton track position to Alonso.

Apparently the Ferrari chief mechanic who operates the lights system on the Ferrari rig was standing slightly further out than normal, which meant that Hamilton had to go around him and as he came into his pit box his front wing endplate gashed the leg of the right rear gun man.

The cut was very deep, requiring stitches both internally and externally.

He did a try out this weekend, but it was decided that it would be impossible for him to carry to his duties, so a stand in has been drafted in.

They’ve done extensive practice, but inevitably he has not been drilled as the first choice crew has been and this may cost them a few tenths of a second or more.

With changeable conditions today and fast reactions and decision making likely to be decisive, consistency of pit stop will be important.

[MIKA27]

Revised British GP grid

There are several changes to the British GP grid after four drivers were hit with penalties.

Nico Hulkenberg qualified inside the top ten in ninth place but has dropped to 14th as his Williams needed to change his gearbox, which is an automatic five-place penalty.

Charles Pic incurred the same penalty, however, it had absolutely no impact on the Marussia driver as he was already 24th.

There were also two penalties carried over from the previous race in Valencia with Kamui Kobayashi dropping five places for his accident with Felipe Massa and Jean-Eric Vergne ten for crashing into Heikki Kovalainen.

They will start P17 and P23 respectively.

The Grid

01 Fernando Alonso Ferrari

02 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing

03 Michael Schumacher Mercedes

04 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing

05 Felipe Massa Ferrari

06 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus

07 Pastor Maldonado Williams

08 Lewis Hamilton McLaren

09 Romain Grosjean Lotus

10 Paul di Resta Force India

11 Nico Rosberg Mercedes

12 Daniel Ricciardo STR

13 Bruno Senna Williams

14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India *

15 Sergio Perez Sauber

16 Jenson Button McLaren

17 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber **

18 Vitaly Petrov Caterham

19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham

20 Timo Glock Marussia

21 Pedro de la Rosa HRT

22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT

23 Jean-Eric Vergne STR ***

24 Charles Pic Marussia ****

* 5 place penalty: Gearbox change

** 5 place penalty: Valencia crash

*** 10 place penalty: Valencia crash

**** 5 place penalty: Gearbox change