British Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Valtteri Bottas dominates in the rain

First step of a long month, Formula 1 returned to the iconic Silverstone circuit in England. Four Grand Prix will take place in July. After a short break week, the vast majority of teams arrived with new improvements on their cars. Only AlphaTauri did not bring any changes this weekend.

A first session marred by rain. Throughout the session, the rain would come back occasionally, just to disrupt the different planned strategies. While some parts of the track were rather dry, in others, it was mostly soaked. The question of using maximum rain tires, capable of dispersing large quantities of water, could arise. But the asphalt was absorbing the amount of water well, and intermediate tires were enough. However, the drivers were hesitant to go out on track. Only nine drivers had set a time with ten minutes remaining.

Really wet in places 😮#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YKJjFedGSB

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 1, 2022

As rays of sunlight made their appearance during the session, the drivers were waiting for the track to dry enough to continue. However, rain still remained a threat. The teams took advantage of this to make some adjustments to the cars. Lewis Hamilton even found himself alone on the track. Mercedes needed to gather data to see if the improvements made at Silverstone were positive or not. It was a circuit that had been quite successful for the British team in recent years. It remains to be seen if this season, with the performance issues, the seven-time champion will manage to secure another victory at home.

The Briton was actually the first to try the soft tires, quickly followed by other drivers. But a section of the track was still wet and Lance Stroll ended up in the gravel, causing a red flag and the end of the session at the same time. In a challenging session, Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time in 1.42.249, ahead of Lewis Hamilton (1.42.781) and Carlos Sainz (1.42.967).

The ranking of the first session