Live Commentary: British Grand Prix qualifying - as it happened

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British GP qualifying - as it happened
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Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the qualifying session for tomorrow's British Grand Prix.

Silverstone, like most of the UK, has been hit by the wet weather and the first three practice sessions have been far from straightforward for the 24 drivers.

Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of final practice this morning. Can the world championship leader take pole?

15.38It tooks its time in coming but that was, as expected, a gripping qualifying session. Join us for coverage of the race tomorrow here on Sports Mole. See you then.
15.37Hamilton looks at the screen and shakes his head in disbelief. He's followed by Schumacher who bears a slight wry smile.
15.36So Maldonado and Raikkonen were able to edge ahead of Hamilton, who was clearly struggling in the McLaren and will start eighth.
15.35Here's the top ten: 1 Alonso 2 Webber 3 Schumacher 4 Vettel 5 Massa 6 Raikkonen 7 Maldonado 8 Hamilton 9 Hulkenburg 10 Grosjean
15.34Webber is second, with Schumacher doing brilliantly to grab third.
15.34Isn't the Spaniard having a wonderful year? Vettel and Webber can't oust the Ferrari man and he'll start from pole.
15.33FERNANDO ALONSO WILL START FROM POLE POSITION AT THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX!
15.33They can't improve and it's ALONSO.
15.33Vettel and Webber still to come...
15.33Alonso's next and HE'S DONE IT!
15.32Here comes Hamilton...still sixth.
15.32Maldonado goes fourth.
15.32It's just started to rain again!
15.31The Aussie bangs in a 1:51.7.
15.31WEBBER goes fastest!
15.31Hamilton's way off the pace in the McLaren, down in sixth at the moment. He's got one flying lap remaining. Webber looks much more confident than Vettel at the moment.
15.29Vettel's not on it as much as Alonso as the Red Bull struggles. He's third at the moment.
15.29Alonso goes a whole second quicker than Massa! Brilliant from the Spaniard.
15.28Both Ferraris now top of the timesheet as Massa goes a tad faster than Alonso.
15.28No time set yet for Hamilton as Schumacher is told to come in for a tyre change. That means the German will have just one shot at pole.
15.27Alonso is even better thanks to a 1:53.7. Schumacher had full wets, Alonso inters.
15.27Schumacher goes quickest with a 1:54.0
15.26Two of the nine runners (Grosjean couldn't take part remember) are on full wets. It looks as if the inters are by far the quicker tyres.
15.25Schumacher is told that heavy rain is on the horizon but that it won't hit the circuit until after Q3. Phew!
15.24Hamilton was ready to go out on full wets but the McLaren boys make a quick change to get him on the inters.
15.23Maldonado is told to stay out on the intermediates and get in five timed laps. Vettel is also out on the green-marked inters.
15.22The Venezuelan is out on his own and he's chosen intermediate tyres! The rest of the field will surely see how he gets on and then make their decision.
15.22Q3 is underway!
15.21Maldonado is once again the first man out of his garage and ready at the end of the pit lane to begin the final ten-minute session.
15.20Here are the drivers who were knocked out there (in order): 11 Di Resta 12 Kobayashi 13 Rosberg 14 Ricciardo 15 Senna 16 Vergne 17 Perez.
15.18Rosberg will be disappointed as he's out in 13th. The top three in that session were Hamilton, Hulkenburg and Schumacher.
15.18Q3 will begin in four minutes at 3.22pm.
15.17Di Resta questions if Alonso and Vettel went too quickly under the yellow flags to knock him out.
15.16Grosjean had set the fifth-fastest time but he'll now not be able to take part in the top-ten shootout because his vehicle is beached in the gravel.
15.16Alonso and Vettel have just squeezed into the top ten to knock Di Resta out.
15.15Alonso now down in 13th as Grosjean spins and is stuck in the gravel at Vale.
15.14Perez has had a shocker, he began this restart in first remember, and is now 16th!
15.13Hamilton goes quickest by a second and is safely in the top ten.
15.13Hamilton's down in 12th but looks to be on a good lap.
15.12The times are tumbling as Schumacher and Webber set the quickest times.
15.12Alonso and Vettel go second and third behind Grosjean.
15.11Rosberg is bouncing around in the gravel after going off at the Vale chicane.
15.11Grosjean goes fastest by well over a second.
15.11Alonso seems to be doing the job, he's flying (relatively).
15.10It looks as if the times will be quicker now than before the red flag.
15.10Grosjean is the first man to try and set a time as Kobayashi realises he's made the wrong call and comes in for some full wets.
15.09Hamilton reports back that there is a lot of spray and that the wet tyres are the right choice.
15.08The delay time was one hour, 32 minutes.
15.07Raikkonen and Kobayashi are the only two cars to have gone with the green-marked intermediate tyre.
15.07WE'RE BACK UNDERWAY IN Q2!
15.0630 seconds until the off...
15.06The two Ferraris, Schumacher and Grosjean are the four cars who will be hoping more than most to improve their times and get in to the top ten.
15.05It looks as if the drivers will be able to get three flying laps in before the end of the session.
15.04Maldonado, currently 11th, is the first man to form a queue at the end of the pit lane.
15.02Looks like Hamilton has chosen wet tyres, although most of the other cars seem to be on intermediates.
15.00Remember, we have a little over six minutes left of Q2.
15.00What a session we now have ahead of ourselves. The drivers will be unsure of how quick the track can be. Will it be the bolder driver to come out on top? Or will the more cautious trump the lot of them by simply getting a time in?
14.59The drivers hurriedly get their helmets on and slip into the cockpit of their vehicles.
14.58That's the latest message from the stewards and delightful news for all of us.
14.57SESSION WILL RE-START AT 15:07!
14.56Here's a promising tweet from the man who drives the F1 safety car, Alan van der Merwe: "One more check after the sweepers have done their magic and hopefully you guys will get to see some f1 cars again! Almost there."
14.52It's not just Silverstone that's suffering from the rain. The heavens have just opened at Wimbledon as Serena takes the first set. Follow it with Mark Langshaw here.
14.50Click here a picture from our man at Silverstone, Alan Jay, of the marshals clearing the water.
14.48There's also a sweeper lorry that's doing its best to remove the surface water.
14.47Here we go, the marshals are out on the tarmac and it's good old fashioned frantic broom sweeping now taking place as Schumacher leaves the garage and waves to the fans.
14.45The rain is easing ever more and Horner now gives a thumbs-up signal to the camera. Will we be racing again shortly?
14.43The supporters really have been fabulous. They continue to cheer every time one of the drivers takes part in their Mexican wave. Rosberg and Webber are the latest drivers to come out and raise their hands to the sky.
14.40Option no. 4 is the one we're all hoping for as it would ensure a fair qualifying result.
14.394. The rain eases off enough for us to complete qualifying this afternoon.
14.383. We start qualifying tomorrow morning. FIA rules state that the grid must be decided four hours before the race. That would be 9am tomorrow, meaning a very early start for the drivers.
14.372. The drivers would start in order of world championship standings. Therefore, Alonso would begin on pole.
14.351. We start in the positions that the drivers finished as after Q3. Meaning Vettel would be on pole, while Hamilton would start 14th.
14.34There's still much confusion over what will happen with the grid if we struggle to get qualifying done today. Here are some of the options being suggested as possible:
14.31F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone tells BBC Sport that the traffic delays, which led to thousands being turned away today, are not Silverston's fault. He said: "I feel sorry for the fans to be honest with you. You can't blame anybody, it's the weather. There would have been no problem with the car parking if it hadn't rained."
14.28Horner tells Sky Sports F1 that despite the rain easing off, we may be here a little while before pace-setting gets back underway. He says the key thing that will decide the restart is the amount of standing water.
14.24Good old British fans. The rain hasn't dampened their spirit as the crowds cheer on the safety car and start performing a Mexican wave. The Red Bull team join in in the pit lane to the delight of the supporters.
14.22Click here for a video from our man Alan Jay at Silverstone.
14.19The silver Mercedes safety car is completing another lap to get a feel for how the track is looking. For me, the track is looking better than before although there's still quite a lot of standing water.
14.18Jenson Button was the major casualty in Q3 before the rain halted proceedings with six minutes and 19 seconds left of the second of three sessions.
14.17Just a reminder for anyone joining us late that qualifying has been suspended because of heavy rain at the Silverstone circuit.
14.15FIA steward Charlie Whiting says that 3pm is a realistic start time based on the latest forecasts.
14.13Red Bull team principal Christian Horner tells the BBC that "even if the rain stops, the major problem is the standing water on track."
14.08The rain is beginning to ease off! The sky is brightening and perhaps we'll have the sound of revving engines again soon.
14.06Hamilton's brother Nicolas tells Sky Sports F1 that this interval won't affect his brother in any way. He's hoping, like the rest of us, that the showers will stop sooner rather than later.
14.02If you want to follow some sort of action until we get back underway, head over to our coverage of the women's singles final at Wimbledon by clicking here.
14.01A little bit of rain would've made qualifying truly exciting but this much is just annoying. Still no sign of the precipitation subsiding. Race Control have just announced that there will be a ten-minute notice ahead of the restart.
13.58Bit of a celeb spot as Jude Law enjoys the dryness of the paddock.
13.55It's believed that if the rain doesn't ease off at all then qualifying may have to resume from this position tomorrow!
13.54We'd all love to see the drivers try and tackle these horrendous conditions but at the speeds they travel there's just no chance because of the safety risk.
13.52These sort of conditions must be adrenaline-full yet pretty scary even for the most-seasoned of F1 drivers. The rain lashing down on their helmets mean they can see very little on track and it's a bit of a lottery.
13.49The latest data suggests that this shower may not ease until 2.40pm! That's 50 minutes away.
13.48Here's a tweet from Caterham's principal and QPR owner Tony Fernandes: "The weather has been a real pain. Just havnt had time to test all our parts. And so many different tyres. But it will come."
13.46The majority of drivers are sitting patiently in their cars getting psyched up before they're let loose again. No sign of the rain easing off as yet, if anything it's getting heavier.
13.44Team principals are just looking round in hope that the persistent rain eases off soon. Force India's Di Resta says there's just nothing you can do when the track is so sodden.
13.41Williams's Senna is the only man yet to set a time in Q2.
13.386:19 is the time on the clock as the officials made the red-flag call. Perez is currently fastest with a 1:59.0. The Mexican is followed by Hamilton, Rosberg, Vergne and Hulkenburg. Alonso, Schumacher, Grosjean and Massa are all in the elimination zone at the moment.
13.36The tyres just can't clear the standing water on track at the moment and the stewards had little option but to briefly suspend the session.
13.36Massa spins off onto the grass as THE SESSION IS RED FLAGGED!
13.35Hamilton reports back to his team that it's "too slippery". He adds that he came close to crashing a minute ago. He's currently second fastest in this session.
13.34Schumacher's now been off the tarmac four times in this session!
13.34ALONSO spins and comes within metres of finding the wall. The Spaniard looks to have done well to save that. There's two legends of the sport really struggling.
13.33Schumacher's having a real struggle and is off again! This time he does find the trap off the track but manages to keep some drive and escape trouble.
13.32Vergne and Schumacher both spin, with the latter oh so close to finding the gravel trap. Isn't this exciting, so much spray now flying out the back of the cars!
13.31Button tells Sky Sports F1 that everything today has been great apart from Q1. Not sure what he means by that. He's trying to take the positives in that he'll have used less tyres by tomorrow.
13.29Ferrari clearly made the wrong call as they come straight in for a set of wets.
13.28Some drivers are now sporting the blue-marked full wet tyres, while the Ferraris have stuck with the inters. Tough call for teams on which tyre to go for.
13.28So we go from 20 minutes to 15 for this session. We'll lose another seven drivers before the top-ten shootout.
13.27Q2 is underway!
13.27Vettel was fastest in that session, with Hulkenburg, Maldonado, Perez and Alonso completing an unusual top five.
13.25That's a massive disappointment for the Englishman at his home Grand Prix. I'm not sure he needed to ease off as Glock was stationary over the finish line. We'll see what the McLaren man says in interview.
13.24Drivers out after Q1 (in order): 18 Button 19 Petrov 20 Kovalainen 21 Glock 22 De La Rosa 23 Karthikeyan 24 Pic
13.22Yellow flags start waving near the end of the lap as Glock spins on the home straight and it looks like Button may have lifted off. He was one and a half seconds inside the time needed after the middle sector so he must have lifted off. Oh dear, oh dear.
13.21JENSON BUTTON IS OUT AT THE FIRST STAGE OF QUALIFYING!
13.21Hamilton's in danger of going out in 14th as the remaining drivers begin to complete their laps.
13.20Time's up in Q1!
13.20Here goes Button on his one chance of getting in to Q2.
13.19Di Resta was looking good to improve his time but he spins towards the end of the lap. One more chance.
13.18The third Brit, Di Resta, is also struggling in 15th place.
13.18Button comes into the pits for a brand new set of inters. He'll only have one flying lap to get into Q2. Talk about pressure.
13.17Hamilton 14th, Rosberg 17th, Button 18th. Big names in trouble. Anyone who is 18th and above goes out remember.
13.16The rain's getting heavier near the pit lane as some drivers go out on slick tyres. That's a mistake surely?
13.16Button again can't post a time inside the top 17 as we edge towards four minutes left of the session.
13.15Vettel shoots to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:46.2.
13.14Button has been attempting many laps and he now sits in the eliminating position of 18th. The Englishman needs to find something here.
13.13Fastest sectors are now being achieved thick and fast as the drivers achieve optimum performance on the intermediate compound.
13.12Hamilton asks his team if he can use DRS and they reply: "No! Do not use DRS."
13.10Maldonado, Ricciardo and Perez now occupy the top three places as the drivers hop up and down the leaderboard.
13.08The drivers seem to be coming to the track as Kobayashi sets a 1:47.8. Hamilton now second ahead of Schumacher.
13.07Massa blitzes the Englishman by seven tenths! Good stuff from the Brazilian.
13.06Hamilton now fastest by three tenths of a second with a 1:49.1.
13.06Massa and then Maldonado set the quickest times with 1:49.4s.
13.0515 minutes left of the first session and a flood of times come in and it's Schumacher who is the first to go under 1:50.
13.04Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle says that the mixture of wet and dry conditions on track are perfect for the intermediate tyres. Kobayashi sets the first time with a 1:50.4.
13.03All 24 cars are on track as Raikkonen is told that he has no Kers system for qualifying.
13.02A message from Race Control informs us that DRS has been disabled. No surprise there as the speed-enhancing system would just lead to increased danger.
13.02Button is told to find a gap to get in a hot lap nice and early. His camera on the car is spattered with loads of drops. Rain ever heavier.
13.01The rain's coming down harder! This is going to be brilliant.
13.00First up we have a 20-minute session where seven drivers will be eliminated.
13.00The first session is underway!
12.59The current conditions suggest that most drivers will go out on the intermediate tyres.
12.59Caterham's Vitaly Petrov is told on the team radio that the weather will get worse. Looks like all the teams will be rushing out to get some laps in early.
12.56Prediction time now and I'm backing Hamilton to delight the crowd by taking pole. Alonso, Button, Vettel and Grosjean to run the McLaren man close.
12.54There are brollies aplenty as we look at the fans that have made it in to the famous circuit. Around five minutes until the green lights signal the start of quali.
12.51In an interview with BBC Sport, Hamilton says that this is the first time he has been in a situation where a contract is coming to an end. He adds that he is happy where he is but that's not the most convincing interview I've ever heard.
12.46The awful conditions in the midlands have led to thousands of F1 fans missing out on getting in to the circuit today. Officials had to turn away cars who didn't have a pre-paid parking ticket this morning as people queued from the early hours of the morning to get in.
12.44Our very own Alan Jay is watching on at the circuit this afternoon and he's just tweeted a photo of some rain in Northamptonshire. Good for us viewers, bad for the teams' preparation.
12.42Force India's British driver Paul di Resta was struggling with a Kers issue this morning but he tells BBC Sport that the team is hoping to have it sorted by the start of quali.
12.38Sky Sports F1 have just shown a feature video on the potential street race around London. Looks absolutely fabulous I have to admit.
12.36Alonso was quickest this morning in dryer conditions, while Hamilton was the man to shine in the much heavier rain yesterday.
12.34Any changing conditions could result in a surprise pole-sitter but we'd expect the wet-weather specialists like Hamilton, Button and Alonso to show up.
12.32Hello all, so we're in for a fascinating qualifying session as the horrid weather has been playing a pivotal role in all the running so far.
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