Pole position went to Lewis Hamilton for his home race at Silverstone, with Nico Rosberg close behind. As is becoming habit, the pair set their faster laps before failing to improve on their final runs in Q3. Williams locked out the second row with Felipe Massa pipping Valtteri Bottas to third place, and behind them the two Ferrari drivers line up alongside each other as well.

There were no major surprises in qualifying, with Manor, McLaren and Sauber the early fallers. Lotus were firmly midfield, whilst Toro Rosso and Force India managed to get one driver each into the top ten. The team were particularly disappointed with their performance after better results during the three free practice sessions.