British Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Verstappen conquering at Silverstone
On the lands of Mercedes and especially Lewis Hamilton, it's Max Verstappen who was the fastest in this first free practice session.
This free practice session was very important for the teams as it was going to define the settings for the brand new sprint qualifying. That’s why, for once, Mercedes had its drivers go out at the beginning of the session to not waste time.
At home, Lewis Hamilton will give everything to break Red Bull’s winning streak. The English driver has not been on the top step of the podium since the Spanish Grand Prix. After leading the timesheets for 15 minutes, the seven-time world champion was successively beaten by Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, and finally Max Verstappen.
After 40 minutes of remaining session, Max Verstappen was setting fast times with a 1’27’035. A lap 7 tenths faster than his previous best lap but above all 1.1 seconds ahead of his garage neighbor, Sergio Perez.
Carlos Sainz had a little scare as he lost the rear of his Ferrari at the entry of the fourth corner. It was the first and only yellow flag of FP1.
It was a very disappointing session for Mercedes, which failed to beat Lando Norris’ McLaren and finds itself relegated to 7 tenths behind Max Verstappen.
On the other side of the scale, it was a very good free practice session for Ferrari, with its two cars placing 4th and 6th, with an advantage for Charles Leclerc.
Result of FP1:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1’27’035 | 23 | |
| 2 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1’27’814 | +0.008 | 26 |
| 3 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’27’815 | +0.008 | 30 |
| 4 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’27’828 | +0.008 | 26 |
| 5 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’27’897 | +0.008 | 29 |
| 6 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’27’923 | +0.009 | 25 |
| 7 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’28’062 | +0.100 | 23 |
| 8 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1’28’163 | +0.101 | 25 |
| 9 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1’28’211 | +0.102 | 28 |
| 10 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1’28’415 | +0.104 | 24 |
| 11 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’28’449 | +0.104 | 28 |
| 12 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’28’600 | +0.106 | 29 |
| 13 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’28’827 | +0.108 | 26 |
| 14 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1’28’873 | +0.108 | 24 |
| 15 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’29’220 | +0.202 | 27 |
| 16 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1’29’227 | +0.202 | 27 |
| 17 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1’29’227 | +0.202 | 24 |
| 18 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’29’597 | +0.205 | 21 |
| 19 | Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | 1’29’808 | +0.208 | 23 |
| 20 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1’29’857 | +0.208 | 28 |
