Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/849592
maltatoday SUNDAY, 16 JULY 2017 Sport 50 FORMULA 1 Hamilton and Raikkonen on front row at Silverstone LEWIS Hamilton survived a stewards' investigation to retain a quite brilliant pole position af- ter he delivered a crushing per- formance in qualif ying for Sun- day's British Grand Prix. Hamilton, who is 20 points be- hind Sebastian Vettel in the race for this year's championship, blew away the field to finish more than half-a-second clear of his nearest challenger. Hamilton's moment of magic was left hanging in the balance after he was alleged to have blocked Romain Grosjean at Turn 15. But the stewards took no fur- ther action to leave Hamilton just one pole shy of Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 68. The Briton will have Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for company on the front row, with Vettel only third. Hamilton's preparations for the 10th round of his stutter- ing championship charge have been dampened by the criticism he courted for failing to attend a promotional event in London earlier this week. But, in Hamilton's mind at least, he will now feel his two- day holiday to the Greek island of Mykonos has been vindicated after he completed one half of his mission to claim a fourth consecutive win at Silverstone. The Mercedes driver finished well clear of Raikkonen and was an eye-watering three-quarters of a second faster than his chief championship rival Vettel. Hamilton's Mercedes team- mate Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth, but will start ninth after serving a five-place grid drop for a gearbox change. "I grew up watching TV and I remember seeing Nigel Mansell with the support and thinking, "Wow, I wonder what that feels like having all that focus and at- tention and support pointing in- to me'," said Hamilton, who has been on somewhat of a charm of- fensive with the home fans after he swerved the London parade on Wednesday. "I've been really privileged over the past 10 years to come here and receive that love. It really is so energising. Nigel mentioned it years ago. He said it gives you a second, maybe it's half a second, but it definitely feels like it gives you something. "You carry that energy and I think that applies to life in gen- eral. If you are feeling positive on a day, your day just goes a lot better." Hamilton's rival Vettel was on his best behaviour at the last round in Austria, well aware that any petulance would see him slapped with three points on his superlicence, and a subsequent Silverstone ban. But there was a glimpse of the old, fiery German here after he complained he had been blocked by the Force India of Sergio Perez. ''What the hell is Perez doing?'' Vettel shouted. He then expressed his anger over the team radio after he felt traffic had scuppered his final run. "What was that on the out lap?," he raged. "That was a s*** spot to be in, absolutely s*** spot." Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso topped the order in Q1 - the opening phase of qualif ying - af- ter bolting on a set of dry tyres and blitzing this 3.6-mile circuit as the track began to dry out fol- lowing an earlier sprinkling of rain. Alonso's lap brought a huge cheer from his fans and those of British team McLaren follow- ing what has been another lack- lustre campaign. Indeed, it was the first time a McLaren car had been quickest in any phase of qualif ying since the 2013 Indian Grand Prix. But the Spaniard's efforts were meaningless, knowing he al- ready faced a mammoth 30-place grid penalty following further changes to his Honda engine. The 35-year-old will be thrown to the back of the grid. Britain's Jolyon Palmer, in search of his first points of the season, has finished 11th at three of the last four grands prix. And that is where the 26-year- old from Horsham will start his home race, where rain could play its part again. Qualifying results - 2017 British Formula 1 Grand Prix Pos. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps 1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:39.069 01:27.893 01:26.600 25 2. K. Raikkonen Ferrari 01:40.455 01:28.992 01:27.147 25 3. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:39.962 01:28.978 01:27.356 23 4. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:39.698 01:28.732 01:27.376 26 5. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:38.912 01:29.431 01:28.130 23 6. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:39.201 01:29.340 01:28.856 21 7. S. Pérez Force India 01:42.009 01:29.824 01:28.902 26 8. E. Ocon Force India 01:39.738 01:29.701 01:29.074 25 9. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:40.011 01:30.105 01:29.418 24 10. R. Grosjean Haas 01:42.042 01:29.966 01:29.549 26 11. J. Palmer Renault 01:41.404 01:30.193 18 12. D. Kvyat Toro Rosso 01:41.726 01:30.355 20 13. F. Alonso McLaren 01:37.598 01:30.600 17 14. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:41.114 01:31.368 15 15. F. Massa Williams 01:41.874 01:31.482 21 16. L. Stroll Williams 01:42.573 11 17. K. Magnussen Haas 01:42.577 11 18. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:42.593 10 19. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:42.633 10 20. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:42.966 4