British Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Red Bulls at the top of the standings

The first hour of practice for the British Grand Prix has just ended. Drivers have completed a significant number of laps to test the improvements on many cars.

A difficult start to the session

Formula 1 continues with a second consecutive race weekend. The teams have settled in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. The start of the session saw a Red Bull car come out with a sensor to gather information on the new parts installed on the cars.

This first session of driving allows cars to test the new elements brought by each team.

Despite a warm track temperature with 39°C announced on the asphalt, many drivers complained about the lack of grip in their cars with medium or hard tyres.

Many drivers survived. Nyck de Vries even went off-track but without consequences for the session. No red flag was waved.

A quick end to the session

The first fast laps, on soft tyres, were completed halfway through the free practice sessions. The two Ferraris, Logan Sargeant’s car, and Yuki Tsunoda were the first to run on red tyres in this free practice session.

During the last 15 minutes, all drivers except the two Mercedes switched to red tires. Max Verstappen set the fastest time in this first practice session. The two-time world champion took a 0.448-second lead over Sergio Perez, who finished second in the session.

The surprise comes as early as the third position, which is occupied by Alexander Albon’s Williams. Ferrari, which had approached the top positions during the Austrian Grand Prix, finds itself in 5th place with Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz is in 7th place.

Regarding the French drivers, Esteban Ocon finished 6th. His teammate Pierre Gasly finished 13th in this first free practice session.

The classification of this free practice session