Great Britain – Free Practice 1: Verstappen on top, Vettel at a standstill

F1 heads to Silverstone for two weeks with lots of new features!

On the drivers’ side, the replacement of Sergio Perez by Nico Hülkenberg at Racing Point was due to a positive COVID-19 test. On the car side, new parts were brought, notably by Red Bull. Max Verstappen was able to take advantage of these improvements to set the fastest time of the session in 1:27.422.

The teams tested their new features with the Kiel probes or paraffin at the start of the session. The first timed lap comes after 15 minutes of the session by Räikkönen in 1:32.661, beaten immediately by Norris in 1:30.035.

The Finn triggered a short yellow flag after a spin at turn 7 of Luffield that harmlessly brought him into the gravel. His teammate Giovinazzi experienced a similar mishap, this time at the exit of Becketts, with a big burst of throttle and flat spots on his tires, partially delaminated on his way back to the pits. The red flag was brought out to remove debris from the track, a red flag that will be lifted shortly before mid-session.

???? RED FLAG ????

The resulting debris on the track from @Anto_Giovinazzi‘s spin has halted the session ????#BritishGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/tNBypWerSS

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2020

This restart will happen without Vettel, who has to undergo a part change (exchanger issue) and will not run during this first free practice session. An additional hurdle for Ferrari, who have been lacking competitiveness since the start of the season and need to get on track to improve their car. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton will change his MGU-K this weekend, the last change before a penalty as the 2020 season schedule extends.

Conditions improve upon resumption with the best time for Bottas at 1:28.869 ahead of Stroll by +0.010s. Verstappen and Hamilton are 3 tenths behind. On his first flying lap, Hülkenberg is 1 second behind his new teammate with a time of 1:29.600.

With 30 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton sets the fastest lap at 1:27.8 on medium tires, ahead of Bottas with 1:28.4 on soft tires, and Verstappen at 1:28.7 on hard tires. The Red Bull driver then beat the best time by switching to soft tires with a 1:27.422, which remains the benchmark time of this FP1. Leclerc’s only remaining Ferrari is 5th, 8 tenths behind.

At home, the McLaren drivers continued to work on their new elements by securing the 12th (Norris) and 13th (Sainz) fastest times, behind the two AlphaTauri cars. On his return, Hülkenberg secured the 9th place, six-tenths behind his teammate. The German finished behind the two Renaults, 7th and 8th, with Ocon ahead of Ricciardo.

The Hulk is back!

Watch his return to the track ????#BritishGP ???????? #F1 https://t.co/LdOqpSIarV

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2020

Results of Free Practice 1 of the 2020 British Grand Prix