If ever proof were needed of the quality of Fernando Alonso, one need look no further than his performance today.

The Spaniard, who has put up with trials and tribulations that would have caused others to commit foul deeds or at least seek a different team, or series, not only topped the timesheets in Q1, but despite yet another ludicrous grid penalty still found the resolve to make a joke about his chances tomorrow.

At the very end of Q1, making it to the line to begin his banzai flying lap on slicks by a matter of seconds, the Spaniard defied the odds to post the best time of the phase.

It was an achievement that rightly caused the crowd to erupt with applause and cheering.

At the end of the session, which, ironically, saw him out-qualified by his teammate for the first time, the two-time world champion, despite facing another difficult afternoon tomorrow, still found the will to joke about his plight.

"We proved today that in mixed conditions we are quite competitive," he told reporters, "so a wet/dry, wet/dry chaotic race could play in our favour.

"I need mixed conditions," he continued, "I need 25 pit stops for the others, to change tyres very often, and if do 23 stops then you recover a lot of places."

Getting serious, he said: "In a way I think it's better to be out of Q3, because you can chose the tyres you will start the race with. Starting last with old tyres from Q2 is a penalty, so I'm happy with P13.

"Being fastest in Q1 was nice," he admitted, "but we had slicks. The track was a little bit on the limit, we took a benefit from that.

"Let's see tomorrow, these mixed conditions can hopefully help us, so let's hope it will be like that tomorrow too, so we can have a chance to fight."

Asked about the crowd's reaction to his Q1 performance, he smiled and said: "I saw the reaction of the people, it was nice the grandstands happy for that moment.

"I think the guys in the garage deserved it as well, they've been working so hard this last couple of years, changing many components and, unfortunately, working very hard. So, even if it's just for one moment, to be up there I think is good."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Silverstone, here.