When was the last time Minardi ended a Grand Prix session as fastest? What team had its fortunes reversed in last year's race? And which drivers perform their best at Silverstone? Marcel Schot brings the answers and more anecdotes on the eleventh round of 2003

Even though the track was drying, it was still a surreal sight: after Friday's qualifying for the French Grand Prix, a Minardi was at the top of the timetable. However, uncommon as this was, it wasn't the first time that it happened.

Usually, the smaller teams see any success at all near the start of the season, when the big teams haven't developed their car to its full potential. In 1989, with Minardi, it was the other way around. The first half of the season was nothing less than horrible, with not a single finish in the first seven races and second driver Luis Perez-Sala not qualifying on two occasions. However, Pierluigi Martini showed a small spark of what was to come in the second half by qualifying eleventh three times.

It all turned around at Silverstone. Martini stormed into the top ten right at the start, only to fall back down the grid after four laps. However, the speed was there and slowly but surely Martini made up the loss. The Italian made his was past Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot in the span of a few laps. After that both Minardis were able to pick up several places when car after car ran into problems.

By half distance both Minardi cars were still running and had climbed to eighth and ninth place respectively. On lap 37, Martini caught up with his teammate and Lotus driver Satoru Nakajima, efficiently making his way past the two. A lap later Lola driver Philippe Alliot had to stop when his engine failed, thus handing Martini sixth position. To make the party complete Mauricio Gugelmin also retired with just a few laps to go and both Minardis were in the points.

From then on, life was considerably sunnier for the Faenza team. And then in Belgium, it happened: in a soaking wet warm-up before the race, Pierluigi Martini took maximum profit from the conditions and steered the Minardi into first place.

Whereas there were unusual conditions involved at Spa, the conditions at Jerez, three races later, were as they normally are in the south of Spain: warm and dusty. In the first free practic session these conditions were perfectly suited for the Pirelli tyres Minardi was using. In a downright sensational result, Martini put the Minardi in first, nearly a second ahead of number two Gerhard Berger in the Ferrari.

Just as the British Grand Prix was the turning point for Minardi in 1989, it also changed luck for BAR last season. After a frustrating first nine races with a lot of retirements and no points, both Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis managed to score at Silverstone. With a very wet middle part of the race, it was great teamwork to make the right decisions at the right time.

Even though BAR were very happy with their result, the overall race was pretty much another Ferrari show. The masters of strategy did a great job, despite Juan Pablo Montoya grabbing the lead early on and Rubens Barrichello having to start from the back of the grid after a problem in the warm-up lap. Just before the rain started to fall, Michael Schumacher grabbed the lead and never looked back.

While this happened, Barrichello quickly moved up the grid. After six laps the Brazilian was up to eighth place, where he got stuck behind Jenson Button. However, when the rain started Barrichello was up to third in three laps' time, mainly because the chaos in the pitlane was enormous everywhere other than Ferrari. Two laps later Barrichello passed Montoya and the Ferraris were one and two. Towards the end of the race, both Ferraris pulled away, finishing respectively 30 and 15 second in front of Montoya.

Despite the fact that Ferrari has always been dominant in the British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher for once doesn't lead the statistics in every conceivable category. Only when it comes to Grands Prix lead the German shares the record with Alain Prost. The Frenchman also shares the record for most wins in the British Grand Prix, together with Jim Clark.

For Schumacher's main rival in the Championship, McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen, Silverstone is a place of mixed memories. Last year the Finn struggled and eventually retired when his Mercedes engine refused to co-operate, but in his first race at the former airbase Raikkonen had a great weekend. In the Sauber he equaled his best grid position of the season by qualifying seventh, and a fifth place in the race meant his fourth points finish of the season.

The number three in the Championship, Ralf Schumacher, has performed well at Silverstone before the last two seasons. In his races with Jordan the German finished fifth and sixth, while his first two British Grands Prix with Williams ended with third and fourth respectively. However, since then lady luck turned her back on the Williams driver. In the last two British Grands Prix problems with the fuel installation prevented Schumacher from posting a decent result. In 2001 he even retired when the BMW engine stopped a lap after his pitstop.

However, 2003 is a season where much is different from the previous season. Ferrari is not dominant and stategies have changed as a result of the new rules. Two-stops strategy seems to have become the norm this season, and with Ralf Schumacher's last three stops at Silverstone going either bad or very bad, the younger of the two brothers will probably drive into the pitlane a little more nervous than anyone else this Sunday.