After Spain and Austria we fly to Silverstone, the home GP for several drivers and teams who will have three sessions this weekend to find the right compromise to tackle the fastest and most ridden sections of the iconic circuit, with the triad of most famous corners on the calendar: Maggots , Becketts and Chapel. But watch out for the weather, which is rather unstable for the entire weekend. In fact, the rain has already fallen on the track. So let's see what happened during Free Practice 1 of the Silverstone GP which saw the participation of several rookie.
The last stage, at the Red Bull Ring, saw a Mercedes return to the top step of the podium, that of George Russell, who was able to take advantage of the "fratricidal" clash between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen which led to the retirement of the McLaren driver and relegated the Dutchman to fifth position. Although the two cool-headed drivers clarified at Silverstone, the home circuit for the McLaren and for Norris, the second act of this very interesting fight cannot be ruled out.
We hit the track for Free Practice 1 of the Silverstone GP
Among the first to take to the track is Oliver Bearman in the Haas, a single-seater that the Englishman will drive "full-time" next year, having been announced yesterday as the official driver for 2025. But Bearman is not the the only rookie on track in these FP1 at Silverstone. In fact, together with him, Hadjar took to the track with Perez's Red Bull, Doohan with Gasly's Alpine and Colapinto with Sargeant's Williams. The weather at Silverstone is unstable but the sky seems to be holding up. For this reason, most teams take to the track on hard tires for a session that promises to be dry. The Ferraris, who brought nothing new, chose to start with the hard compound as did the Mercedes who immediately took the lead of the group. Leclerc and Sainz, having to deal with the bouncing problem, will carry out comparative tests with the different packages.
Yuki Tsunoda in the gravel, and it's an immediate red flag
The session was interrupted after just 10 minutes, due to a red flag caused by Yuki Tsunoda going off the track and ending up in the gravel on the guided section. While activity on the track is still at a standstill, let's delve deeper into a very important topic, namely the changes to the elements on the single-seaters. Among the many to change we find Perez, the McLarens, Russell, the Aston Martins, and Pierre Gasly. The French having completely changed the Power Unit he will get a penalty on Sunday. After 20 minutes we're back on track. Max Verstappen's first attempt ended 2 tenths of a second from George Russell's time, which had improved compared to the time set before the red flag.
Ferrari compares the old with the new
Haas decides to send Oliver Bearman on the track with the soft tires who, with the softer compound, places himself in fifth position, 5 tenths of a second from Russell's time with the Hard ones. Meanwhile, the battle between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell continues. The 7-time world champion improves his teammate's time by 3 thousandths. With the old package, 30 minutes from the end Sainz finds the lead of the group while Leclerc is at 6 tenths. A test like this is fundamental for the Red Team.
The second half of the session, the times on the yellow
For the second phase of the session we move from hard to medium. With the same tire, the best lap was taken by Max Verstappen followed by George Russell and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque with the softer compound slightly surpasses Sainz's time with the hard. Compared to the rest of the top 4, Ferrari seems to be the only team to have taken a step back with development. And this comparison shows it. The ranking changes again with the arrival of Oscar Piastri who takes the lead of the group with the soft. Norris, with white rubber, is sixteenth, with another work program. The first timed lap on the soft for Norris is not entirely brilliant. In fact, the Englishman finishes fourth. The second attempt goes much better. In fact, Norris took first place, leaving Piastri behind by two tenths.
Lance Stroll also set a great time on the red tyre, sandwiched between the two McLarens still on the soft tyres. He did not improve on the time of his teammate Fernando Alonso who placed himself in sixth position again on the soft tyres. 10 minutes from the end all the drivers return to the track for a short race pace simulation. At Ferrari, Sainz's reference on the qualifying time is missing. The Spaniard, who had returned to the track with the medium tyres, did not improve his time and therefore returned to the pits for a race pace simulation. On race pace, Mercedes and Ferrari seem to be doing well. However, the bouncing on Leclerc's SF-24 is very noticeable.
At the end there were some problems for Oscar Piastri who stopped at the entrance to the Pit Lane after a problem on the MCL38. The race direction therefore decided to close the Pit Lane to allow the removal of car number 81. There were also thrills due to Hadjar's impediment to the detriment of Lando Norris, who was forced into a major block. The young Red Bull driver, who pays in experience, promptly apologized.
The top 10 of Free Practice 1 of the Silverstone GP waiting for FP2 at 17pm
P1 Lando Norris 1:27.420 (soft tyre)
P2 Lance Stroll +0.134 (soft tyre)
P3 Oscar Piastri + 0.211 (soft rubber)
P4 Max Verstappen + 0.309 (hard tyre)
P5 George Russell +0.318 (medium tyre)
P6 Fernando Alonso +0.374 (soft tyre)
P7 Lewis Hamilton +0.438 (medium tyre)
P8 Charles Leclerc +0.483 (hard tyre)
P9 Carlos Sainz +0.505 (medium tyre)
P10 Esteban Ocon +0.554 (soft rubber)
