As usual there was never a dull moment at Silverstone today during Qualifying for the British Grand Prix. Typical English summer rain put the cat amongst the pigeons to say the least. So come with me below the fold to find out who won and lost their gambles in the wet… 

Rosberg grabs Pole at last moment while Hamilton misses out; Vettel 2nd and Button 3rd in misty qualifying at Silverstone; Ferrari & Williams miscalculate badly

Nico Rosberg’s recent run of good luck continued unabated as the German Championship points leader put his Mercedes on Pole in the very last moments of Saturday Qualifying at the typically changeable Silverstone circuit. Conversely, his British teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had looked assured of the top spot only moments before, found himself watching from the pits as time ran out, his previously strong time plummeting down the pylon with driver after diver setting quicker laps on the fast-improving track with the rains tapering off. In the end, Hamilton was relegated to 6th position before his disappointed home fans, with a delighted Sebastian Vettel taking 2nd for Red Bull and a surprisingly strong Jenson Button able to push his usually woeful McLaren up to 3rd on the starting grid as Q3 expired. It remains to be seen if drier conditions on Sunday, which are expected, will allow similar results for the non-Mercedes cars in the Top 10 come race day or whether the normally dominant performance of the Silver Arrows will allow Hamilton to climb back to the front and give Rosberg a run for his Championship money. Personally, I’d bet on a storming drive from the English contender who is desperate to reclaim momentum from his suddenly dominant teammate and especially at his home GP.

The biggest losers in Qualifying were undoubtedly Ferrari and Williams who got caught gambling on slicks late in Q1 expecting the rains to lift. The wet weather didn’t stop, however, and all four cars for both teams were bounced out in the first round in humiliating fashion, with upstart Marussia getting the tire call right and sending both cars into Q2 just to add salt to their wounds. For Ferrari it was surely a slap in the face that may cost some poor strategist his job. For Williams it was an abrupt crash landing back to Earth after the dizzying heights reached two weeks ago in Austria, when Filipe Massa took Pole and Valtteri Botas came home 3rd in the race with Massa a strong 4th. It seems certain that for all the gloom in both those respective garages this evening that when the lights go out tomorrow the Ferraris and Williams will carve their way through inferior competition to at least compete for points. But starting from so far back on the grid (17th & 18th for Williams; 19th & 20th for Ferrari) could also lead to early race accidents on Sunday as the drivers push so hard to make up for all those positions that were lost on Saturday for want of a the right tire call.

Top 10 Qualifiers for the British Grand Prix here:

Complete results available at Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s British Grand Prix can be seen live beginning at 7:30 Eastern on CNBC here in the States due to NBCSports Tour de France coverage.