Hello and welcome to our coverage of qualifying for the British Grand Prix. The rain is coming down in Silverstone so the pecking order may well be shaken up slightly this afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton was pole here last season and boy would he love another one here today. He's spoken a lot about regaining the momentum and what better way to do that than pole this afternoon in front of his home crowd.

The clouds are rolling in over the main grandstand pic.twitter.com/d9wp4Y3DIz

— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsF1) July 5, 2014

I think that tweet gives you a good idea of the conditions today. Miserable.

In the three qualifying sessions in the wet this season, Hamilton has claimed pole three times. Rosberg by contrast has had two third and one fourth.

As we saw with Turn 8 in Austria, the FIA is taking a hard line on corner-cutting today. The stewards have said they will take a "zero tolerance" approach to drivers leaving the track at Copse and Club during qualifying.

Once again those who do so will see their times deleted.

Going off the track means all four wheels over the white line. Will test the limits of how far the drivers are willing to push it. Remember Hamilton had an absolute flier of a lap rubbed out in Austria and it may well have been enough for pole, so it's a crucial thing for the drivers to adhere to.

At the other end of the grid, Max Chilton has been served with a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

The conditions today must be a huge boost for Red Bull and Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo both looked pretty handy this morning - though it was hard to judge where they truly lie as Mercedes spent the session in the paddock. But still, they must have a sniff of that front row again.

Hot-footed it back from paddock, abuzz before qualifying, there are spots of rain in the air - tyre choice / tyre saving could be crucial.

— Sarah Holt (@sarahholtf1) July 5, 2014

As if @WilliamsRacing weren't qualifying well enough, they mastered drying tracks at Brazil 2010 (Hulkenberg P1) and Canada 2013 (Bottas P3)

— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) July 5, 2014

Rain. Dry. Trying to rain. Drizzle. What's it going to do for qualifying? I just hope we see as much oversteer as this morning.

— Toby Moody (@TobyMoody) July 5, 2014

Anyone who has lived in Britain for more than a few days will tell you the weather always seems to be something with a chance of rain. The same applies today - some lingering dark clouds around the circuit which could well appear over the track in the next hour.

Michael Fassbender is in the Red Bull garage. Hope he doesn't get his German/Austrian signals wrong again.

— Daniel Johnson (@danielt_johnson) July 5, 2014

Don't need to remind anyone its the 50th running of this superb grand prix. One of the staples of the calendar and it's great to see so many fans out in force this afternoon. Let's hope the action is a little more appealing than the weather.

The tyres provided by Pirelli for this weekend's race are the orange-marked hard (prime) tyre and the white-marked medium (option) tyre. But we won't be seeing those this morning. Expect to see green (inters) and blue (wet) on today.

Moments away from Q1 as cars start to filter down the pit lane. It looks like a Marussia has beaten the rest of the pack to the exit.

And off they go. The clock starts ticking and this 18-minute session is under way.

I can only see green stripes out there so far, meaning most drivers heading out there are opting for the intermediate tyre. Certainly not surprising, it's not wet enough to consider anything else - there's even a few dry patches around.

Remember they have three sets of wets and four sets of intermediates for the weekend. That's why some of the teams - Mercedes being the best example - stayed in the garage this morning, for there is little sense wasting those tyres if the rain returns on Sunday.

Definitely a dry line appeearing on the track already so the teams will start weighing up when they can make the switch back to the dry compounds.

Everyone but the Williams drivers out on track.

Times start tumbling, with Ricciardo going ahead of Vettel early on by three tenths.

But that impervious Mercedes is the next to cross the line, it's Hamilton and it's a 1:43.676 - over a second up on Ricciardo.

Raikkonen runs wide at Club corner,one of those Charlie Whiting promised a zero tolerance approach towards.

Big cheer from the @SilverstoneUK crowd as @LewisHamilton goes straight to the top! @nico_rosberg goes P3 after first laps #F1 #BritishGP

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 5, 2014

Rosberg only manages to go within one tenth of Ricciardo. Hamilton says "if" the weather stays the same, they should switch to slicks. Looks like it's a big if. I doubt anyone is going to get too much closer to his benchmark time today though.

Into the final ten minutes as both Massa and Bottas head out for a timed run.

Raikkonen can only put himself P12. By contrast alonso is P5, albeit nearly two whole seconds off Hamilton's benchmark.

Big moment for Massa coming out of Becketts but he manages to hold the slide. He'll not want another crash this afternoon after two crashes coming into Stowe in two consecutive years.

Massa crosses P5, 2.019s off Hamilton.

Rosberg also asking Mercedes why they aren't switching him to "option" - meaning the medium dry tyre.

Currently in the drop zone - Grosjean, Kvyat, Sutil, Chilton< Ericsson, Kobayashi

Bottas pops in at P5, demoting Massa down a position by three tenths.

Chilton, Kobayashi and Gutierrez are out on the white-striped medium tyre.

Lots of other drivers following suit - Jules Bianchi had jumped to tenth on those tyres so that's all the teams needed to know about those tyres.

Still looks tricky driving with those dry tyres in some areas of the track mind you.

Button also on the dry tyre. Magnussen told to do one more lap on inters before coming in for slicks.

Well Kobayashi didn't fancy a lap on the medium tyre as he heads back into the pit lane. Appears there may be an issue with the Caterham however, rather than him just not liking the conditions.

Conditions tricky as parts of the track are drying out #Q1

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) July 5, 2014

#F1 Chance of light rain soon, so a busy track with drivers making sure that don't fall in Q1. HAM leads from RIC, ROS, VET, ALO.

— James Allen (@Jamesallenonf1) July 5, 2014

The track is starting to come into play for slicks now so this could be a fairly frantic last few minutes.

Gutiererz and Chilton both go P1 and P2, barely faster than Hamilton's intermediate lap.

Button goes P1 but seemed to slip wide at the final corner - interesting to see if that lap is allowed to stand.

Everyone but Vergne and Massa out on mediums now.

Lots of times are being wiped out for running wide. Good to see the FIA sticking to their guns about that. One minute and a half remains.

Button's time has been deleted so he'll need to go again.

Raikkonen currently in the drop zone. Button hovering mighty close.

Kvyat - Bianchi - Hulkenberg in the top three - is this F1 2018?

Alonso spins at Brooklands! He might be about to drop out of qualifying! Disaster for the Spaniard.

Raikkonen looks set to join him as well as the two Williams drivers! What drama here in Q1.

Bianchi and Chilton are about to get into Q2. It looks like Raikkonen got across the line in time and he's still on a timed lap. If he jumps out, Vettel will jump into the drop zone....

Disaster for Williams and Ferrari. Who would have put money on both teams losing both drivers in Q1!! Incredible drama early on here.

Big, big gambles from Williams and Ferrari in allowing their drivers to go out so late. It must be a case of simply misreading when the rain was going to arrive. This has hugely shaken things up for tomorrow's race!

Force India, McLaren and Red Bull must be rubbing their hands together.

Race Control: Quite busy. #F1 pic.twitter.com/88KuuxGG8i

— Fake Charlie Whiting (@charlie_whiting) July 5, 2014

Sutil's session ended in the gravel but he was out of the drop zone by the end of the session. Doubt he'll make it out in Q2.

Sutil has beached the Sauber in the gravel like a huge blue whale on a Spanish beach. Shame. That's his qualifying run and done. #F1

— F1 Paddock Pass (@F1PaddockPass) July 5, 2014

First time since Malaysia 2010 that Alonso is out in Q1. And probably the second time ever.

— Pablo Elizalde (@EliGP) July 5, 2014

Symonds. Difficult conditions; yellow in Turn 6; was down to timing. Lot of work to do tomorrow. We didn't see rain coming BOT 17 MAS 18 #F1

— Maurice Hamilton (@MauriceHamilton) July 5, 2014

End of Q1. P4 and 6. Just a typical Qualy for us.

Q2 is underway. What drama is left in store here now?

Intermediates have been bolted onto every car again now. Superb to see both Marussias in Q2. The new owners at Caterham might be the only people not too impressed...

Oh dear Ferrari, & terrible result for Williams after Austria heroics. Great effort by Marussia & Sauber to make Q2. Right tyres, right time

— Ben Anderson (@BenAndersonAuto) July 5, 2014

Sauber confirms Sutil will not compete in this session, so he will remain in the pits throughout the session. He'll be 15th then.

There is visibly a bit of spray behind the cars now. Will be very tough to make a call again here. I imagine there are some twitchy engineers on those pit walls.

The drizzle appears to have stopped at the pit lane side of the circuit.

Times start to tumble now as the cars complete their first laps. A few of the smaller teams might well have a sniff at Q3 this afternoon.

Rosberg goes fastest, 1.881s faster than Vergne. Hamilton on a storming lap though.

Hamilton shaves six tenths off his team-mates time. He goes P1 with a 1:44.639.

Drizzle has stopped. Nine mins remain in Q2 #F1

— Maurice Hamilton (@MauriceHamilton) July 5, 2014

Very busy track, only Hulkenberg in the pits currently. Vettel goes fastest, over half a second faster than Hamilton. Both times done on inters.

Apologies - Vettel's time done on mediums. That makes more sense!

Hamilton tells Mercedes he wants to come in now for slicks.

Vettel has gone from 1st to 14th because he exceeded the track limits, so his fastest time has been deleted. He's back in the pits for slicks.

Hamilton goes fastest on the mediums, posting a 1:44.639. That's two tenths up on Ricciardo, who is four tenths quicker than Rosberg currently.

The track looking much drier now. Everyone out on medium tyres.

Rosberg finds a huge slice of time, knocking 1.909s off Hamilton's benchmark.

Gutierrez and Bianchi beat him - the track is drying with every second so the times will start getting quicker and quicker.

Hamilton runs wide at Abbey and will need to go again for a lap to ensure his place in Q3. Two minutes remaining.

Hold on to your hats. The last two minutes are going to be a bit frantic. Rosberg lowers the bar to 1:35.179. Nearest driver is Ricciardo, three whole seconds down on him.

Hamilton leaps to the top of the timing screens, a 1:35.000. That's nearly two tenths quicker and the crowd reacts in kind.

Vettel jumps to third, 1.410s down on Mercedes. Hulkenberg is fourth until Kvyat crosses the line.

Gutierrez is out and in the barrier! Yellows out. Grosjean knocks the two Marussias into the drop zone. Perez in danger at the moment.

The yellows stay out and that may well have cost Bianchi....

Indeed it appears to have. He goes 12th, ahead of Chilton by a tenth. Agonisingly short of a debut Q3 appearance. Still drivers on track.

Vergne moves up to P8, Kvyat into P5.

Not ideal for Sauber, who have a little bit of work to do to repair both cars after going off at the end of either qualifying session.

So the guys dropping out are Grosjean, Bianchi, Chilton, Gutierrez, Maldonado and Sutil, who did not make it out of the pits after his spin at the end of Q1.

All did at least one lap on the White medium for the end of Q2. Hamilton fastest with 1.34.870s. #BritishGP #F1

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) July 5, 2014

Great charge by two Marussia drivers. Didn't make Q3, but came close!

— Steve Slater (@steveslaterF1) July 5, 2014

A few minutes now to get your breath back before Q3. Great drama this afternoon so far... what will the final session have in store? I'm going to put my neck on the line and predict a Brit on pole..........

Just like the Monaco race Sauber had half a chance to do something and both drivers went off in what is clearly an evil car to drive

— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperF1) July 5, 2014

Got to agree with this. The Sauber looks like an absolute handful pretty much every time I look at Sutil or Gutierrez driving it.

Chilton will drop from 13th due to that grid penalty but that shouldn't take anything away from his efforts in Q2. Bianchi's 12th will be Marussia's best starting position. Great job again.

Q3 is underway and Daniil Kvyat l is out first.

At the moment the track looks a lot dryer so everyone heads out on mediums. Are we set for a straight fight between the Mercs?

It's simple enough here, if it stays dry. Mercs definitely on pole. Rain would make things a little more interesting but looks unlikely at the moment.

Apparently Chilton complained Hulkenberg did not lift under that double yellow period at the end of Q2. The Force India driver might be seeing the stewards after this session. Interesting precedent set yesterday, though, by not penalising two drivers for passing under red flags......

Rosberg reports of some drizzle at Stowe.

And Kvyat comes sliding through the corner! He manages to show it but it looks absolutely treacherous. These could be the pole laps right now!

Perez claims the benchmark, a 1:40.457 which Ricciardo can only get one tenth within.

Hamilton sets a fastest middle sector. He claims provisional pole, a 1:39.237 and Rosberg crosses behind him! 0.194s down.

Clear to see from the onboard cameras the rain coming down at Stowe. Perez under investigation after impeding Maldonado in Q2.

Vettel jumps into the pits without setting a time.

Behind the Mercs, Perez is 1.225s behind, followed by Ricciardo (1.374s), Kvyat (1.475s) and Vergne (1.623s)

It seems there is rain at one end of the circuit but not at another. These drivers will wait in the pits so they can dash out for a late run if - and that's an important if - the rain clears up in the next five minutes.

The cars all remain in the garage. Time ticking down though and if they are to go out they will have to do so soon. You imagine they would need two minutes for an outlap....

2:30 remaining in the session.

Two-minute warning coming up and Button heads out on the medium tyre. Vettel is told to "use his head" as he heads out on track.

Both Toro Rossos are still in the garage, so they won't be getting round again. Ricciardo is also in the pits.

Hamilton complains its still "pretty slippery" on track. Ricciardo currently sits P4... will he still be there in 45 seconds?

Vettel warms his tyres as he comes in to Stowe. He has time for a flying lap - he currently sits tenth without a time set.

Rosberg says Hamilton needs to speed up. It looks like Hamilton was being held up by a Marussia but it looks like Rosberg just about got across the line.

Perez did not cross the line so he will not get another time in.

VETTEL JUMPS TO P1! HULKENBERG JUMPS TO P2!

And then Rosberg claims pole! Hamilton appeared to jump into the pit lane and he will start from sixth.

They all found a huge chunk of time in the final sector there, clearly. Superb drama at the end of this session. Button managed to get himself into third as well.

Disaster for Hamilton.

Did Hamilton make a mistake? It looked like he aborted the lap so perhaps he made a mistake and he is clambering out of his car in parc ferme and looking utterly dejected.

Wow. Very telling body language from Hamilton - he looks utterly dejected as he stands on the FIA's scales.

The eventual pole time, by the way, was 1:35.766.

Button laps up the attention of the fans after getting P3 in qualifying. A rather dramatic qualifying session once again

Mass confusion as #Hamilton plummets from first to sixth in the final seconds of qualifying as some canny racers find big chunks of time

— Byron Young (@byronf1) July 5, 2014

That was frankly extraordinary. What on earth happened for Hamilton we won't know just yet but he must be wondering how on earth that happened, not only letting pole slip thorough his fingers but also slipping down to sixth.

Good job from Vettel as well. You feel he needed to outqualify Ricciardo here and he did so.

Button in the top three - an unusual position for him this season but I'm sure he won't be complaining. This sets up one hell of a race tomorrow..... albeit, possibly, behind Rosberg.

Thanks as always for joining me for live coverage of qualifying. Please do join again tomorrow for what is set to be an absolutely absorbing race.