Grosjean slots onto pole in Silverstone

Romain Grosjean has claimed his third pole of the season in blustery conditions this afternoon here in Silverstone, finding a clear lap while his rivals tripped over themselves in traffic to take the top spot ahead of Alberto Valerio and Alvaro Parente.

Romain Grosjean (FRA, Barwa International Campos Team) Credit: Andrew Ferraro/GP2 Series

Grosjean set a best time of 1:25.899 on a clear lap after exiting the pits with fresh tyres ahead of the remainder of the field, cutting two tenths out of Valerio's time to claim pole while his rivals tripped over each other trying to beat him.

The fight for the top spot between the pair was intense: the Brazilian set the early pace until Grosjean bested all three sectors to slot in ahead, but with much of the field coming in to the pits halfway through the session one last, clear lap for Valerio looked to have solidified him at the top, until Grosjean escaped ahead of everyone else and stole it back.

In the closing minutes though it looked set to tumble: Jérôme d'Ambrosio was the first man to miss out because of traffic, having to make do with fourth ahead of Lucas di Grassi, Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hülkenberg, all of whom had a legitimate claim for pole before having their laps spoilt for them. Today's pole was one second faster than the best lap from last year: the first thirteen drivers were ahead of that time, which promises a blistering pace for race one tomorrow afternoon.

Silverstone - Qualifying session
 
Pos Driver               Team                        Time     Laps

1.  Romain Grosjean      Barwa Addax Team            1:25.899  13  
2.  Alberto Valerio      Piquet GP                   1:26.103  14  
3.  Alvaro Parente       Ocean Racing Technology     1:26.162  14  
4.  Jerome d'Ambrosio    DAMS                        1:26.317  16  
5.  Lucas di Grassi      Fat Burner Racing Eng.      1:26.370  15  
6.  Vitaly Petrov        Barwa Addax Team            1:26.381  13  
7.  Nico Hulkenberg      ART Grand Prix              1:26.406  15  
8.  Javier Villa         Super Nova Racing           1:26.678  17  
9.  Pastor Maldonado     ART Grand Prix              1:26.723  15  
10. Kamui Kobayashi      DAMS                        1:26.747  13  
11. Diego Nunes          iSport International        1:26.831  16  
12. KarunChandhok        Ocean Racing Technology     1:26.842  15  
13. Dani Clos            Fat Burner Racing Eng.      1:26.927  15  
14. Davide Rigon         Trident Racing              1:27.086  15  
15. Davide Valsecchi     Durango                     1:27.105  16  
16. Andreas Zuber        FMSI                        1:27.106  15  
17. Giedo van der Garde  iSport International        1:27.135  17  
18. Luca Filippi         Super Nova Racing           1:27.379  15  
19. Edoardo Mortara      Telmex Arden International  1:27.494  16  
20. Michael Herck        DPR                         1:27.598  14  
21. Nelson Panciatici    Durango                     1:28.014  15  
22. Giacomo Ricci        DPR                         1:28.043  15  
23. Luiz Razia           FMSI                        1:28.789   6  
--  Roldan Rodriguez     Piquet GP                         --   2  
--  Ricardo Teixeira     Trident Racing                    --   1  
--  Sergio Perez         Telmex Arden International        --   1 

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