ÜBUNG MACHT DEN MEISTER.

So, my title is apparently the German version of 'practice makes perfect' which is what I usually call my review of Friday's practice session; in case you were wondering!

You've probably seen the headlines about Jenson Button setting the fastest time in FP1 by now but because the track was constantly changing; there were short bouts of rain and the track was wet and then dry etc, the time isn't really an indication as to where he and McLaren will be this weekend with respect to their main competitors. McLaren have brought a major upgrade package to Hockenheim and have made significant aerodynamic changes to the sidepod in a bid to increase downforce. The upgrades were desperately needed at McLaren and they will be hoping that they are now matched with Red Bull, and even Ferrari, in terms of performance. They need to put Silverstone behind them as a weekend to forget but also learn from. Qualifying conditions tomorrow may be similar to what they were like in Silverstone and we all know that McLaren were below par in those conditions. I do find it strange that McLaren choose to bring major upgrades to races all at once and are then happy to leave the car for a few more races. It would make a lot more sense to constantly evolve the car and add upgrade by upgrade, which is what Red Bull do. Nevertheless, the upgrades are finally here but we will still have to wait and see whether their developments mean they can put their woes behind them. Jenson's time was good but set at a time when the track was dry and no-one else really benefited from that. He does, however, seem to have some of that balance back!

FP2 have us a better indication of teams' abilities but again conditions were changing and the time you set your lap was crucial. The start of the session was hampered by rain and so no running took place; Jenson Button even took the opportunity to have a cup of tea! Then brave Bruno Senna went out on the wet tyres and others followed suit. As the track dried up, the intermediate tyres came on and the lap times flew. The order was constantly changing as drivers got tyres at their optimum and the track continued to dry. Enjoying stints at the top were; Button, Vettel, Rosberg, Grosjean, Hamilton and more... Maldonado then set the fastest lap just as the rain returned. Before that there was even some talk about switching on to the slicks but that was merely a passing thought and the weather had other plans.

Michael Schumacher then brought the session to an end as he crashed his Mercedes by the Mercedes grandstand with approximately 4 minutes to go. It wasn't a big disruption as not much running was taking place and teams weren't that concerned with data collection at that point.

There's not really a lot to learn from these practice sessions but we do know that Qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday won't fail to deliver some more exciting racing. There seem to be several contenders for pole as Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Williams all have fast cars that we know are capable of bringing a challenge. We don't yet know what the conditions will be like for the Qualifying sessions and timing and tyres will be crucial in setting the fastest time, not necessarily who has the fastest car!

I am missing the session, but will be recording and watching late in the evening, meaning I won't be able to post a review. So, enjoy the session and I will see you back here on Sunday, which feels like a lifetime away at the moment, to discuss all things German Grand Prix-related!

Bis Sonntag,

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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FORMEL EINS KOMMT NACH DEUTSCHLAND AN

The German Grand Prix marks the halfway point in the 2012 Formula 1 season and it could prove to be a crucial race in the title battle, which currently looks like it will be a three-way battle between Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. The trio are separated by 29 points and that is why the outcome of this race could lead to the order shuffling up.

Vettel goes to his home Grand Prix knowing that finishing lower than Alonso is not an option. Fernando is enjoying a comfortable lead over the reigning world champion and his consistency this season has helped him become a firm favourite for the title. Vettel and Red Bull have said that Alonso is still to have his share of bad luck this season and, whilst that may be true, they cannot rely on things not going Alonso's way to help them secure both titles. The German is under pressure; his past form at his home race is probably not as encouraging as he would like but if there was ever a season when winning at home would mean more than usual this is it. Sebastian knows what he has to do and must ensure that he can remain calm under the pressure and go into this Grand Prix with the championship in mind. Vettel's teammate is also ahead of him in the standings. The pair's results mean that Red Bull could be well on their way to securing a hat-trick of Constructors' titles. Some have said that Vettel is not comfortable with Mark's performance being slightly better than his this season; the Australian has 2 wins to Sebastian's one. Whether or not that is true, we don't know the feeling in the Red Bull camp and I think that considering 2012 has been so unpredictable already Sebastian understands that it is not yet time to panic and mull over what his teammate is doing.

McLaren are in a completely contrasting position to Red Bull going into this race weekend. In Silverstone they had the misfortune of both of their drivers struggling to perform and this meant it was clear that there were problems with their car. Previously, Jenson Button's failure to deliver strong results couldn't have been blamed solely on the car as Lewis wasn't experiencing the same problems. However, the last race showed that the team need to develop their car at a much faster rate if they are to continue competing for either of the titles. At this stage, when they sit fourth in the Constructors', I believe they must act as if they have nothing to lose. They should not be afraid of radical upgrades and they have the Friday practice sessions to see how the car reacts in Hockenheim. In Valencia Red Bull reformed their exhaust package and brought major upgrades; the move could have backfired but instead put Red Bull ahead of their competitors in the development game. This season the team that is able to develop the fastest and most successfully will be the team that takes the championship and currently McLaren are not able to develop the MP4-27 at a good enough rate. They have fallen behind and their fate this season is now up to them! They should also not let speculation over Lewis Hamilton's contract distract them from what they come to this race to do but McLaren are experienced enough to know how to handle with contract talks and rumours.

Lotus have now overtaken McLaren in the Constructors' so they sit in third. The lead is only 2 points but with Lotus improving and McLaren falling behind that could still increase. Lotus are still to take their first win of 2012 and their drivers Raikkonen and Grosjean are both looking comfortable with the car and the team are certainly hungry to take that win. Can they add to McLaren's woes this weekend? 

Maldonado had yet another incident with another driver in Silverstone and that led to young Sergio Perez giving a damning verdict on the Venezuelan to the world's media. He was certainly not shy or retiring in telling  us exactly what he, and apparently many other drivers, think of Maldonado's driving. The stewards reprimanded him for the incident with Perez and another one will lead to a 10 place grid penalty. I do think the collision with Perez was a racing incident and if it was any other driver involved Perez and fans wouldn't have been as upset by it but because Maldonado has form for causing incidents like this many felt that he just cuts it too fine and that's not really fair for other drivers. Let's hope that Maldonado has an incident and blame-free weekend in Germany. He definitely needs one.

There have been news reports lately surrounding the future of the German Grand Prix. Financial problems mean that both Hockenheim and the Nurburgring are uncertain over their ability to stage the Grand Prix. The race in Germany is such a staple in the F1 calendar and for it to be missing would be a real shame. The country's link to F1 is huge; historically and in the present day! Furthermore, the TV revenue that F1 gains from Germany is huge, RTL pay staggering amounts, so financially it is a very important country to the sport. I have no real doubt over a Grand Prix taking place in Germany; Mr Ecclestone and co. understand how vital Germany is to F1. 

All in all this weekend is set to be a great one! There is so much riding on it in terms of the two world titles and that means the stakes are very high! Hopefully this will lead to interesting strategies, drivers really going for it and teams bringing upgrades that really mix things up. Silverstone was too long ago and I am desperate for some exciting on-track action; I'm sure Hockenheim will deliver. 

Bis bald, (yes, I did German at A-Level and I know that impressed you!)

Aqsa

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P.S. Tomorrow I will try my absolute hardest to ensure a review of FP1&2 is up but I will not be able to do one for Qualifying as I am working all day (13 hours to be precise) so I will not have the time. A race review will certainly be up on Sunday though. Thank you for bearing with me; I am very busy this weekend and absolutely gutted to be missing Qualifying. I will post the Qualifying results though...

THE CURIOUS CASE OF JENSON BUTTON

Jenson Button; 2009 world champion and British racing hero. Button had a long wait and a long F1 career before he finally took his first world championship. Then he signed to McLaren and I'm sure many thought more titles would come. That was over two years ago and I'm fairly confident that 2012 will mark Jenson's 3rd year away from F1 glory. Of course, last year he was, in harsh terms, the best of the losers when he came a very respectable second in the championship; the highest position that was actually contested due to Sebastian Vettel's dominance.

Jenson had a tremendous start to the season. He won the first race in Melbourne, Australia and he was driving what many were claiming to be the car to beat. I can't think of a better way to launch a title bid! So the F1 world left Australia for another year with Jenson Button and McLaren leading both championships. Despite a lot of initial skepticism, F1 fans and journalists started coming round to McLaren's lower nose design theory and there was a lot of "the fastest and most beautiful car" comments being thrown around. McLaren were soon to learn that looks aren't the most important thing...

It's been no secret that Jenson Button suffered from a massive slip in form after that first race in Australia. Let's go through his season, shall we? Warning for you Jenson fans, this might be painful to relive!

So it was a case of hero to zero in the space of a week for Button as he finished 14th in the Malaysian Grand Prix and picked up no points after winning and taking maximum points at Melbourne. However, it was only the second race and it was a collision with a backmarker that put him out of the points. Surely this was just one freak incident and things could only get better. Then Jenson finished 2nd in China; a truly exciting race with Nico Rosberg winning it from pole. So Button was back on the podium and order was restored in what was shaping up to be a crazy F1 season. Then we went to Bahrain. Jenson qualified well; he was on the second row and was starting the race from fourth. Sadly for him, he had to retire from the race and so took no points home. Again... This was also the beginning of McLaren's pit stop nightmares as it was the race where they made mistakes on two of Lewis' stops.

F1 was now done with the flyaways and returned home to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix. Barcelona provides a track that F1 knows well and drivers and teams are used to it because of how much testing they have done on this track. There were three weeks between Bahrain and Spain so teams had time to make updates and reevaluate what they were doing. Drivers could get away from any distractions and refocus on their racing. However, F1 2012 had other things in mind. With Pastor Maldonado winning the race we got four different winners in four races and there was even some Qualifying controversy; another mistake from McLaren when it came to refueling Lewis' car for the final part of Qualifying. Jenson's Qualifying added to McLaren's woes; he started the race from tenth and finished in ninth. So Jenson was back in the points but probably not as high up as he would have liked.

Monaco was next up; the jewel in F1's glamourous, slightly over the top crown! But for Jenson it wasn't to be a weekend of partying and having a good time; he was there to race! Having already won at Monaco in the past, something every F1 driver dreams of doing, Jenson knows what it takes to win at this street circuit. A poor Qualifying session was no excuse for his difficulties in the race. He qualified in 12th and finished 16th but Sebastian Vettel qualified in 9th and finished 4th. It was clear that he and McLaren had deeper problems. We all heard that he had no grip and, depending on the occasion, the MP4-27 gifted Button with both understeer and oversteer. However, his teammate Lewis Hamilton wasn't having the same problems as Jenson meaning the cause probably lay with Button's setup and "balance" as opposed to significant problems with the car. This was further highlighted when Lewis won the Canadian Grand Prix and Button was out of the points in 16th again. Back to Europe and Jenson is in the points; he finished 8th. As Alonso won the race to take a significant lead in the championship it was clear that consistency may well have returned to F1 and would eventually be the key to taking the title. To be fair to him Jenson has been consistent; it's just been at the wrong end of the points.

So McLaren and Jenson returned to the UK. For the team the gap to Red Bull in the Constructors' was ever-increasing and as it seemed that only Lewis was capable of taking high-point finishes the dream was dwindling. And Jenson's dream of taking his second world championship is most probably over. 8th placed Button is 11 points off 7th placed man Kimi Raikkonen. With Kimi currently in better form and a better car, Lotus have overtaken McLaren in the Constructors' standings, I think Jenson should be more focused on taking that position than challenging for the championship, something he believes he can still do. This season of F1 has been unpredictable, to say the least, so I can see why Jenson thinks he still has a chance but it seems to me that normality and consistency is returning. We now have two two-time winners in Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso and even Lewis Hamilton has a fight on his hands. 


There have been many theories as to why McLaren have suddenly gone from 'the team to beat' to 'the team desperately trying to catch up to Red Bull, Ferrari and even Lotus to keep their title hopes alive', or something slightly catchier than that! Perhaps it may be the fact that their lower nose does not leave much room for development so whilst others have made updates and progressed McLaren could not do this at the same level. They have denied that there are significant problems with the car but the British Grand Prix results tell us otherwise. There should be some concern in the McLaren camp now and as the 2012 season reaches its halfway point in Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix, they will need a big improvement in performance. 


They may have been fighting a losing battle to Red Bull at this point last year but everything was up for grabs this season. Ferrari are most definitely still in the race so for questions to be raised over McLaren's chances at this stage in the season is simply not good enough. But the team don't need me to tell them that! They've been in F1 for long enough to know exactly what is required of them. It is now just a question of whether or not they can deliver the results they need.


Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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TWITTER; FRIEND OR FOE?

This post is just my opportunity to have a bit of a rant and I know there are many other F1 fans who would agree with me on this one. If you do, or don't, drop a comment below! Now a small warning; this post is quite uncharacteristic of me!

So, Twitter is a great social networking site. I love using it and I've had a lot of fun talking to and meeting other fans of Formula 1. After a race or after some breaking news it is the go-to place for all the latest opinions. I've gotten to talk to other fans about who their favourite drivers/teams are, what they think about driver contracts and who should stay/go to another team and had so much more F1 conversations. We also talk about non-F1 related stuff because we all have other interests and it is fun to be able to share those with each other. As a fan of a lot of other sports it was great during Euro 2012 to be able to talk to some about the football and talk to others about the European Grand Prix simultaneously. We all love Twitter, that's why we spend endless hours on it, and if you're not on Twitter I do think you're missing out. However, it't not all fun and games...

There are some fans on Twitter who take things too far. A debate, whatever the topic may be, is always interesting because you get to hear the opinions and thoughts of someone you may not necessarily agree with but respect each other enough to realise that you don't have to agree on everything. How boring would we and Twitter be if everyone thought exactly the same thing on every topic? That was a rhetorical question and the answer is very! It's good to encourage different points of view and talk about what you think with others. You may end up learning new things or even changing your initial opinion. By the way, that does not make you 'flaky'! If anything I think it's a good thing and shows you're not stuck in your ways.

Lately I've had some intellectual, F1-related chats via Twitter with other fans. That's been fun! However, there have been other fans who don't seem to realise that we won't all always agree. But that's fine, some people are like that. Now we get to the thing that really annoys me and it all started because of Pastor Maldonado. Ok, we all have our different opinions on him. I think it's obvious that Maldonado has been involved in many 'incidents' this season and last year so naturally some fans of the sport won't be and don't have to be fans of him. That said, their problems should lie with his driving style and that only... There is really no need, that I can see anyway, to start attacking a driver on personal issues that are completely unrelated to his driving or on-track behaviour. You may not like that he was involved in a collision that ended your favourite driver's race but how are his looks in any way related to that? I saw some tweets yesterday that were just plain nasty and I can't understand why some fans people would need to make things personal.

Then we get on to the disgusting issue of death threats on Twitter. I shouldn't even have to explain why this is wrong so I'm not going to. All I'll say is if you are a fan threatening to kill a driver on Twitter, whether you mean this seriously or not, you may have to reconsider that fan status. You can't call that a joke because it's just not funny and we should all know the effect our words, spoken or typed, can have!

All I want to say is we will all have our favourite or preferred drivers and you don't have to 'like' every driver on the grid but, at the end of the day, your passion for the sport should come first. We should all respect what these drivers do and recent, heartbreaking events in Formula 1 (my thoughts are with Maria de Villota and her family) show just what they risk. This is why death threats and wishing a driver crashes during a race are truly disgusting and uncalled for, in my opinion. Whatever a driver does on track adds to the excitement of the sport and if something like a crash does happen the stewards deal with it as they see fit; you don't have to agree with their decision and you can/should express that but there is a limit to how far you should go. We are all united by our love for what we believe to be the most exciting sport and that should come first!

*Rant over* Let me know what you think on this topic and what your Twitter experience is like!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

AQSA'S PODIUM

Now that we've had time to reflect on the weekend's action I've been able to think about who my top three drivers of the weekend were. I thought the majority of drivers performed well considering they didn't really know what to expect for the race after a wet, rain-disrupted Qualifying session. Nevertheless, hearts will be broken as I can only choose my top 3 for this feature...

3. Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi was involved in a few interesting on-track battles during the race, particularly when he overtook Vettel at the start of the race only to lose position a turn later. He made up a position on his Qualifying place, which is always good, and all his overtaking manoeuvres were clean but effective.

2. Romain Grosjean

Kimi's Lotus teammate comes in at number 2. He qualified in 10th and finished in 6th. Romain continue to impresses me this season and he is proving why he deserved his second chance in Formula 1. I expect great things to come for the young Frenchman.

1. Mark Webber

Mark, the winner of the Grand Prix, takes the number 1 spot on my list for the second week in a row. He was my pick as driver of the day for the European Grand Prix because he moved from 19th on the grid to finish 4th. This time round it's because he kept a cool head during the race and maintained his second place well. Then, when it mattered, he really attacked leader Fernando Alonso; timing everything perfectly. A well deserved win for the Aussie who finally confirmed where he will be driving next year. So congratulations to Mark for taking the top spot in Aqsa's Podium for two weeks running. I'm sure this is the best news he'll receive all week...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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VETTEL AND WEBBER TOGETHER IN 2013

Today Red Bull Racing and Mark Webber announced that the Australian will be driving for the current world champions in 2013 after signing a one-year contract extension. Webber added that the decision was ultimately an easy one as he had a "strong" desire to continue at Red Bull Racing and that he "really, really likes working with them". You can read the full interview with Mark here. As Sebastian Vettel was already contracted for 2013 this news confirms the team's driver line-up for next year.

Before this announcement there had been a lot of rumours and debate over what Mark should do and where he should be driving next year. Unlike with Lewis Hamilton, I didn't really think there was any need for us to be discussing this. Mark and Red Bull do, despite what many say, work well together. It's a team he knows well and from the team's perspective he is a good partner for Vettel. Talking about his partnership with Vettel, Mark said it has "proved to be a successful partnership". As far as I am concerned, Red Bull have the best driver line-up on the current grid and that is why they have been able to win two Constructors' championships in a row. Both of their drivers can give them strong points finishes and both are capable of winning races. From Mark's perspective Red Bull are the best team on the grid and can give him a car with which he can always be challenging at the front; something every driver wants. And now that the talk of contracts is over Mark can concentrate on what he is paid to do; his driving and battle to win this year's championship, something that is now a very real possibility following his wins in Monaco and Britain. 

Mark admitted that he had "discussions with Ferrari" but it was his decision to stay with Red Bull. I hope he can have successful seasons, this year and in 2013, with the team and who knows, perhaps he and the Red Bull will remain together for longer than that.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #2

So this is the feature where I pick the best moment of the weekend's race. For the European Grand Prix I picked the Hamilton-Maldonado collision that ended Lewis' race. Last time out we were in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and so when I was thinking about what my absolute favourite moment of the weekend was I realised that I am going to have to cheat and choose a moment that doesn't actually have anything to do with the racing. Or any of the drivers...

My favourite moment from the British Grand Prix weekend took place on the Saturday, but it has nothing to do with Qualifying. Well not directly... Ok, I'll end the suspense now! My moment of the weekend had to be when Murray Walker, the man, the legend, appeared on the BBC's coverage of Qualifying to join commentators Ben Edwards and David Coulthard in the commentary box during the red flag period. Murray Walker was commentating on F1 before my time, well before I was old enough to actually understand and enjoy the commentary so I never got to experience everything he added to an F1 race. Nevertheless I, like any true F1 fan, have heard his commentary on certain classic races and understand why he is a legend for the sport. So to hear his classic '"GO, GO, GO!" live on TV was a truly special moment!

I know this isn't directly related to any of the great track action Silverstone treated us to but it was the best moment of the weekend, in my opinion!

So, what was your moment from the British Grand Prix weekend? Would you agree with my choice or were you watching with Sky/ do you live abroad meaning you didn't get to see it?

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

Silverstone was all about the 'local' team Red Bull, in my opinion. The Milton Keynes based team took home a double podium, astonishingly their first of the season, with Mark Webber winning the Grand Prix and Sebastian Vettel coming in a respectable 3rd position. The team have a great record at Silverstone and this just adds to it. It also cements their lead at the top of the Constructors' championship; they now have a 64 point lead over nearest challengers Ferrari. Therefore this is my choice as my 'Setting the Scene' picture:

The results from today also mean that Mark Webber has; cut the lead Fernando Alonso had in the Drivers' championship, increased the lead he has over teammate Vettel and become the second driver to take two wins this season. A successful weekend at the office! There have been questions about Webber's future and all he has confirmed so far is that he will be in Formula 1 next year; he has not specified with whom. He has now outqualified his teammate in 5 out of 9 races and has 2 wins to Vettel's 1; not bad for a number 2 driver.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

MARK MAKES IT TWO UNDER THE SILVERSTONE SUN

I'll begin with apologies for the late review; I was recovering from that Wimbledon match! I can't go into detail as I'll just get emotional.

So the rain defied expectations, stayed away and we had a dry race in Silverstone. This meant all teams were essentially venturing into the unknown in terms of strategy and how they compared to others. Consequently, we had different teams and drivers going for alternative tyre strategies so before the race had even begun we knew tyres and strategy would play a vital role. If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweet about how nothing quite excites me like alternative tyre strategy. This was not an exaggeration. As the drivers in the top 10 had qualified on the intermediates, they were able to choose what tyre they wanted to start on. Lewis Hamilton and pole-man Fernando Alonso notably decided to start on the  harder compound tyre whilst their rivals at Red Bull, and most others on the grid, chose the soft tyre to start the race. 

Anxious to not have a repeat of 2011 when Vettel overtook Mark, who was on pole, going into the first corner Fernando went defensive to retain his lead. Vettel got a bad start this year slipping behind Felipe Massa. After the race Vettel did say that the first stint and falling behind Massa and Schumacher hurt his chances of winning the race.

One of three British drivers at this weekend Paul Di Resta lost any hope of impressing in front of his home crowd just one corner into the Grand Prix. Contact with Romain Grosjean's Lotus led to a puncture on a rear tyre. Di Resta was able to make it to the pits for a change but in doing so sustained too much damage to the floor of the car and his race was over. I am sure Paul is feeling really disappointed with what happened and I don't know whether the fact that there was no one to blame helps that or not. There was another early retirement for one of the Caterhams. Vitaly Petrov's race was over before it had even begun. The team kindly tweeted me to confirm that it was an engine failure that caused the premature retirement but they will only know more once engine suppliers Renault "strip down the engine and find out what happened". It's fair to say that Renault have not had the best fortnight. Vettel and Grosjean retired due to problems with their alternators and now Petrov was unable to race.

During the first stint Alonso was able to maintain his lead to Webber, who also had a comfortable lead over Schumacher, Massa and Vettel. The latter two were all within the DRS zone to the man in front but only Massa was able to gain a place. Red Bull had to try the undercut and pit first to switch Vettel onto the harder tyre. They had to try a roll of the dice and were essentially the first team to blink. Luckily, it paid off. After Massa and Schumacher pitted they emerged behind Sebastian. Alonso stayed out longer than most, as he was on the harder tyre, but he did eventually pit and resume his place in front of Mark Webber. Hamilton didn't need to pit as soon as everyone else and so he enjoyed a brief period where he was leading the race; a real treat for the British fans!

Nevertheless, normality then resumed. Hamilton was shuffled down the pack and Alonso reclaimed the lead. It was all calm at the front, for a while...

Another race, another incident involving Pastor Maldonado. Whether you love him or hate him, there can be no denying that Maldonado had been involved in far too many collisions in his F1 career and, this season particularly, has cost his Williams team a lot of points. This time round he clashed with Sergio Perez and the young Mexican's race was ended. Looking at the collision I think it is something you would usually class as a racing incident and the stewards seem to agree by not awarding Maldonado with any grid-place penalties for the next race. However, Pastor is a driver with past form for getting involved in collisions that end others' races. Sergio Perez was damning in his verdict on Maldonado and even said that his dangerous driving is a concern amongst most drivers. Perhaps he does have some bad feeling towards him after the incident in Monaco a few races ago but his anger was clear. Maldonado has also been given a reprimand by the stewards and it is his second one so should he get one more it will be a grid-place penalty that awaits him.

Then followed the next rounds of pit stops. Those who had started on the soft tyre were following a strategy of soft, hard, hard. Those on the hard were mainly going for hard, hard, soft. Hamilton was an exception. He went for the soft tyre for the second stint and only used it for around 8 laps. It was strange strategy from McLaren but I think they knew that they would have to try something different if they were to challenge for the win. Qualifying, albeit the conditions were different, showed they didn't really match up in terms of pace.

By the time of the second round of pit stops Mark Webber had managed to reduce some of the lead Alonso had after Mark had pitted. He needed to reduce it by approximately a further four seconds but Alonso headed in, put on his soft tyres and emerged in front of Webber. Mark's Red Bull team told him to start cutting down the difference and to just be patient as Alonso's tyres would eventually fall away from him. Mark did as he was told and amazingly managed to but down a 6-second lead in a few number of laps. He then got incredibly close, tried to use DRS but had to settle for using it to reduce the gap rather than overtaking. When the time came Mark went round the outside of Alonso for a great overtake for the lead of the British Grand Prix. I do honestly think that if there were a few more laps of the race Sebastian Vettel could have had a go at Alonso as well...

Felipe Massa really impressed me during the race. He finished 4th; his best result of the season and I really hope that a podium is possible for him this season. It can't be easy for any driver to hear the rumours surrounding your future and hearing other drivers talk about the possibility of them having your seat next year. Despite what many say Massa is a good racing driver and he can overtake. His priority now must be to focus on Qualifying. Should he sort that out, I'm sure podiums await!

The race was really disappointing for the Brits on the grid. Paul had a DNF and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button finished 8th and 10th respectively. Clearly, this means that the car was just not up to it and, for once, it wasn't a problem with Button's balance and set-up. The issue didn't even seem to come from high tyre degradation, something Jenson had struggled with, and they were equal with other teams on making tyres last. McLaren did have upgrades for this race but Ferrari and Red Bull were still just out of reach for them. No doubt there will be some head-scratching at the MTC as the team try to pinpoint why they were so far off the pace and how they can recover some of that form in time for Hockenheim.

The British Grand Prix was a great one. Silverstone truly is one of the greatest circuits in the world, even if it doesn't traditionally throw up a lot of overtakes, and it was a pleasure to watch F1 come back to the UK. The weather forecast may have deceived us as the rain that was expected never came but all other promises were delivered. Silverstone lived up to the high standard of Formula 1 in 2012, in my opinion anyway, and it's a shame that we have to wait another year for it.

That's the end of my race recap and, I don't know how obvious this is, I have done it slightly differently to how I usually do. Let me know what you think about the review and the race itself and keep coming back as I have more post-race posts to add!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images: Mail Online)

SILVERSTONE SERVES UP A SATURDAY SPECTACLE.

There was utter chaos over in Silverstone today as the teams and drivers took to the track to qualify for the British Grand Prix. The session was red flagged with just over 6 minutes of Q2 to go but the action on either side of the red flag more than made up for the rain delay.

It was clear from the get go that this was going to be a Qualifying session full of shocks and surprises! All the drivers were eager to get out straight away and get some timed laps in whilst conditions were still manageable. This led to yet another traffic jam in Silverstone in a weekend when that has been one of the biggest news stories surrounding the event only this time it was queues of F1 cars not F1 fans. Lap times were set and, although they weren't very fast, drivers did need a lot of control and skill to keep their cars on track. There was a lot of slipping and sliding as the rain began to have a big effect on the track action.

Caterham were enthusiastic about Qualifying today. They have brought major upgrades to Silverstone making changes to their front wing, rear bodywork and exhausts and had claimed that they expected it to give them about half a second in pace. To the casual F1 fan that may seem insignificant but with strict regulation limiting what designers and engineers can do to their cars it is quite extraordinary to make such gains in pace. Whether the team have actually made this progress is as yet unclear; it is likely that the weather conditions today didn't allow them to really show their hand. Nevertheless, they once again failed to make it through to Q2 despite their early confidence. Petrov and Kovalainen qualified in 19th and 20th respectively but will start a position higher as a result of Jean-Eric Vergne's penalty from Valencia. We know that Caterham can progress into Q2 so perhaps we will just need to wait for a Qualifying session in normal conditions to see their upgrades come into effect. Behind the two Caterhams are your usual suspects; Glock, De La Rosa, Karthikeyan and Pic. However, Vergne will be the man starting 24th, after qualifying in 16th, so all the aforementioned drivers will also move up one grid position.

Jenson Button. What is there to say about Jenson Button? The Brit's woes continued in front of his home fans. After a promising FP3 result, finishing 2nd, I'm sure Jenson and many others thought he would have an easier time of it in Qualifying than he has recently had. However, conditions were different for FP3 and with even less (of Jenson's arch nemesis this season) grip in the wet it just wasn't to be in Silverstone. This is a disappointing results by anyone's standards let alone someone who is trying to relaunch his title bid! Speaking to the BBC's Lee McKenzie after the premature ending of his involvement in Qualifying, Jenson was still feeling optimistic about the race. Conditions will be wet tomorrow, surprise surprise, meaning there will be plenty of opportunity to climb up the order and overtake. I also doubt tyres will play as big a role tomorrow due to the low degradation of the wet tyres and so, as this is an area Button has particularly struggled with this season, I think he is right to be feeling optimistic. The weekend is not over yet...

In Q2 it was clear that the rain had gotten so much worse. There were literally deep puddles that the drivers were having to drive through and I did find myself thinking that a red flag was imminent. It looks like race control agreed with me and, as I mentioned above, the session was stopped for an hour and a half with 6 minutes and 19 seconds of Q2 remaining. Fernando Alonso made his thoughts on the need for a red flag very clear on his team radio. He wasn't setting lap times good enough and was down in 16th before the red flag.

There was a lot of criticism of the decision to red flag the session. I was watching the BBC coverage and technical wizard Gary Anderson made his feelings very clear. The argument was that drivers should qualify whatever the condition and it should be that whoever is the best in those circumstances gets to reap the benefits. This is a very hazy area and there are varied opinions on it. I was one of those people thinking there had to be a red flag and that drivers couldn't possibly qualify or even drive in that rain. Hearing the arguments from the likes of Gary Anderson has made me think that a red flag may have been too drastic. But when you see the extent of the rain and how deep it was, was there anything else Charlie Whiting and co could have done? It was a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't! At least it meant there was time for a Mexican wave or two...

Topping the timesheets before the stop was Sergio Perez. Sauber had got everything right; tyre choice and when they sent their driver out to set a timed lap so they were set to be the real losers as a result of the red flag period. And lose it, they did! When the session resumed, Perez was unable to keep close to the rest of the pack. He blamed the tyre decision for this. He ended up coming last out of all the drivers in Q2 and qualifying in 17th. However, he gets to move up thanks to Vergne and his Sauber teammate. Kobayashi qualified in 12th but will start from 17th due to a penalty from Valencia when he crashed into Felipe Massa. Sauber looked strong in practice yesterday when conditions were fairly similar to today so it is a surprise to see them fail to progress to Q3.

Also failing to progress to Q3 were Paul Di Resta, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Bruno Senna. All of them, apart from Ricciardo, had to see their teammates make it through which tells you just how mixed up the pack was. I'm sure they will be disappointed to be the teammate that didn't progress but they can take comfort from the fact that they saved tyres and with a wet race ahead they can still come out on top tomorrow, when it counts!

Now on to the top 10 shoot out; the climax of an exciting day's action! There were many contenders for pole position; Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Webber would all be up for the fight and no one was to be written off. Romain Grosjean beached his Lotus at the end of Q2 so, despite making it through to Q3, he was unable to run and starts 10th. A few drivers, including Hamilton, decided to come out on the full wets but it soon became apparent that the intermediate tyres would have to be the way to go! Alonso was consistently topping the leaderboard after, pretty much, every single lap he completed. Even Felipe Massa enjoyed some time at the top showing that Ferrari had managed to 'do a Vettel' and switch something on just when it mattered most! Webber went first, Schumacher went first; all were in for a real shot! The two obvious names missing from the battle were Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Vettel would seemingly be on a fast lap but then towards the end of the middle sector it looked like he kept backing off. It was strange to see him so far away from his teammate's pace, to say the least. Nevertheless he ended up qualifying in 4th and on the second row; a respectable position! Lewis Hamilton was the big shock of Q3! Not only did he set a fairly average lap time to go 6th but then had to watch as drivers kept beating his time. He therefore starts from a lowly 8th on the grid. Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Pastor Maldonado are sandwiched between Vettel and Hamilton and they start 5th, 6th and 7th respectively.

Alonso, Webber and Schumacher were clearly the strongest drivers in the pole position shoot out and just found a lot more pace than their competitors. It was Alonso who came out on top as he took his first pole position of 2012. Webber joins him on the front row showing Red Bull do still have pace but it's just a different driver at the front for them. And Schumacher continues to prove his worth in an F1 seat by qualifying ahead of Vettel.

I don't think the qualifying positions will be that important for tomorrow's race. Naturally, it won't hurt to start at the front but drivers behind shouldn't feel disheartened. There is a long race ahead and it is guaranteed that a lot will happen. I wouldn't rule out a red flag out, let alone a safety car and tyre strategy may prove crucial. Decisions of when to change tyres to adapt to changing circumstances and track conditions will be an important part of who will manage a strong finish.

If today was anything to go by Sunday at Silverstone won't fail to disappoint the hundreds of thousands of fans who will show up in force, and have been told to do so by organisers, to the Grand Prix tomorrow. Make sure you are back here after the race to review everything that happens with me in my race review and other features throughout the week!

Who will win the race? I don't think anyone can give an answer with full confidence and I certainly have no predictions. I'm just ready to enjoy what the British Grand Prix will bring and, with a lot at stake championship-wise, the drivers won't hesitate to show us some fantastic racing, regardless of what Mother Nature will throw up!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images: Mail Online)