Valtteri Bottas did just enough to beat teammate Lewis Hamilton and claim a crucial pole for the British Grand Prix.
In a very tight battle during Q3, the Finn set the benchmark at 1m25.093s and, despite a better second lap, the local hero couldn’t find enough falling just 0.006s shy in second.
Charles Leclerc had led the way for much of qualifying, but a poor first run had left him on the back foot.
The Monegasque was fractionally up through two sectors on the final lap, however, but the slow-speed weakness of the Ferrari showed through the final two corners, falling 0.079s shy in third.
Red Bull never quite looked in contention, but Max Verstappen would be less than two tenths off Bottas in fourth, as Pierre Gasly beat Sebastian Vettel into fifth.
In the midfield, Daniel Ricciardo produced a great lap to beat Lando Norris by just half a tenth for Renault, securing seventh ahead of the McLaren.
Alex Albon’s excellent weekend also continued with the British-Thai racer in ninth for Toro Rosso, as Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 in the second Renault.
Q2
With dark clouds looming, Mercedes sent both cars out on medium tyres with an eye on a longer first stint in Sunday’s race.
Leclerc initially joined the Silver Arrows on the yellow-striped compound and was fastest, but would change strategy as he went out again on soft tyres and improved his time.
Vettel committed to the C3 rubber throughout, but his first run was disappointing only managing P8, requiring him to go out again.
Red Bull followed the top three in using the medium tyre, and Verstappen would seize the initiative versus Gasly as their nip and tuck battle continued.
The final dash to make top 10 shootout saw Vettel recover to P5, knocking out Antonio Giovinazzi as he and Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen sat 11th and 12th.
Carlos Sainz would be the surprise name to fall in 13th for McLaren, with Romain Grosjean 14th and Sergio Perez completing the top 15.
Q1
At the front, Hamilton led the field thanks to a solid lap on softs, but it was Leclerc who continued to look strong, just 0.02s behind using the medium tyre for Ferrari.
In the battle to make the cut, a last gasp effort from Perez dropped Kevin Magnussen to 16th for Haas, with Daniil Kvyat just behind in 17th for Toro Rosso.
Lance Stroll extended his streak of Q1 exits to 13 in 18th for Racing Point, as the two Williams once again brought up the field with George Russell half a second clear of teammate Robert Kubica.
Full results from qualifying can be seen below:
