The Friday in F1 British GP saw McLaren being chased closely by Ferrari, as Visa Cash App RB showed their hand but they all wait for how the weather turns out to be.
It was sunny but windy on Friday in F1 British GP at Silverstone. While the pair of McLaren drivers continued to show their good hand, they were being closely chased by the Ferrari duo. In fact, Lewis Hamilton topped FP1 in his home event and backed it up by a third place finish in FP2.
He felt good in the car albeit slightly down in FP2, but he reckons Ferrari is in for a good weekend. His teammate Charles Leclerc echoed the Brit’s sentiments. The race pace looks good for both the cars and even on qualifying trim, they look decent enough but they are trying to find an extra bit.
Norris was fastest in FP2 but cautions about Ferrari pace, which Oscar Piastri noted as well. The Australian didn’t manage to hook-up a good FP2 lap, but was still in the Top 5. As ever, McLaren looks well settled, but the same can’t be said for Mercedes and Red Bull.
George Russell had a difficult run, mostly due to the hot weather conditions. He hopes the cooler weather for the remainder will help Mercedes, as teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli too had a tough run. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen did not enjoy the day, while Yuki Tsunoda has work to do as well after running only in FP2.
Norris: “I mean, the soft was a very strong lap. But me being me, I think also just in general, the Ferraris have been very, very quick today – and they shall be tomorrow. I think we have a bit of work to do, to be honest. It looked maybe a bit too good today. Like always, Ferrari catch up into FP3, like they did last weekend [in Austria]. I would say pleased with today, but nothing to be too proud about just yet. That’s my target [to get pole]! I’m working on it. I would look at it [the stand] every lap, every single lap. I mean, it’s hard to miss! Every lap I’m forced to look at it, but it’s also just a great thing to see. If it’s distracting me, it’s distracting others, so it’s working perfectly.”
Hamilton: “It was a really good day. Great to see the crowd. Amazing to be out on track in a Ferrari here at Silverstone. It’s pretty incredible and also with McLaren and Red Bull having upgrades, so for us to be in the mix still given they have had a step today, it’s really positive. I definitely feel like we can dream of having a strong weekend for sure. Executing and putting it all together and extracting it is another thing but I’ll prepare myself the best I can to make sure we get the best result. I’m progressing a lot now with the car and much more comfortable knowing where it needs to be. I think by FP2 we still weren’t where we needed to be, so definitely struggled a little bit more, but we know the changes that we need to make for the next session.”
Verstappen: “For me personally, was quite a bad day. Just no balance in the car. Just very difficult to corner as well. Quite a poor day for us I think in general. [The wind affected] a lot but that’s of course not an excuse because everyone has to deal with that. It’s not easy but same for everyone. Every weekend is a different scenario. The wind around here, it seems our car is quite sensitive to it but in general it’s not been an easy day.”
Russell: “Well after today not very close, but it has been warmer today. The track was 40 degrees and we are hoping the rest of the weekend it cools down. So it is a little frustrating for us that every single week we are at the mercy of the weather and we need to improve that, especially now we are entering the summer months. We are doing everything we can to improve it. I think our fortunes will turn a little bit and it will come back towards us but, as I said, we can’t be at the mercy of the weather and we are right now. Ferrari have really turned it up the last couple of races. They’ve been strong in race pace all season really, but they’ve been having bad Qualifyings. But I think now we are entering summer, everyone is overheating a little bit more and we are probably taking a step backwards, and they’ve taken a step forward purely because of the temperature.
“So that’s probably not great for them for some reasons, but it is also not great for us for other reasons too. Anyway, I’m enjoying being here at Silverstone, enjoying seeing all the fans. I love this race weekend and I just hope we can improve for the rest of the week. Yeah for sure, coldness definitely. If it is wet for Qualifying then definitely excited for that. It’s a bit of a unique one because the wet tyres actually deg more than the dry tyres. It’s like, I don’t want to get too bogged up in the details here but actually a wet race probably wouldn’t be ideal. But we just want it… cold and dry would be ideal.”
The Top 10 had the pair of Visa Cash App RB F1 drivers, as both Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were closely matched to each other. They look good to score handy points in their midfield fight, especially since some of their immediate rivals had a so-so running on Friday.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also just made it in after running the updates. But he is not certain of their exact pace, as was Lance Stroll. The Williams F1 pair was close to the Top 10 despite their small struggles due to wind. Alexander Albon felt decent, but reckons they have a lot to do.
They are working on reliability as well, as Carlos Sainz suggested. The Spaniard was caught out by the wind, which has been an issue for Williams. They will have Sauber to fend off after okay outing for both Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, who were not definitive of their position.
Like Sainz, even Bortoleto had a spin, while Hulkenberg got the one session since Paul Aron had the FP1 session to himself. The Estonian did a good job, as did Arvid Lindblad in the Red Bull. The spin list had Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who struggled all-through the day on a track he doesn’t fancy as much.
Teammate Franco Colapinto lacked pace, but felt it was a better Friday he has had since returning to F1 drive. The Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman hope that they can continue their magic improvement from Friday to Sunday, after a 50-50 practice run.
Hadjar: “It was a good start to the weekend today here in Silverstone. We were quite fast in both FP1 and FP2 and we were also able to make a few car changes between sessions that paid off, so it looks like we maximized what we had to. With high track temperature, it seemed like the C3 was quite close to the C4, which is interesting, but tomorrow is expected to have a lower track temperature, so I think the soft tyres will be a better choice. In terms of long runs, Liam and I split the cars, as he was on mediums and I was on softs, which is a good trial to understand what is worth more. Overall, though, it was a bit of a lottery out there due to the wind. We looked quite stable, even if you never know what to expect when facing a corner, whether gaining or losing time, but it’s the same for everyone, and we adapt.”
Alonso: “It’s difficult to read where we are after today’s Practice. In FP1 it didn’t look too different between the two packages, but let’s see if we learnt something more from FP2 as we tried some different things with the set-up. It was a very typical Friday around Silverstone with how windy it was. There are a lot of things to analyse, but it was a clean day and let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Albon: “It was very windy and generally tricky out there today. Not quite the pace we wanted, but we need to figure out how to make the car more driveable and come back stronger tomorrow. It’s always tricky with wind because you are facing oversteer and understeer at every corner and, being so exposed at Silverstone, it’s hard to know where to pitch the car because no corner feels good; it’s just trying to find the most consistent balance throughout the lap. We made some good changes ahead of FP2, and I think we’re heading in the right direction for Qualifying tomorrow.”
Bortoleto: “Today was a positive day overall. We focused on understanding the balance of the car, and I was pleased with the direction we’re heading. Driving at Silverstone in a Formula One car is so enjoyable – it’s such a rewarding track. That said, the conditions made things quite challenging. The wind gusts were strong and unpredictable, with a lot of tailwind in several sections, which made it tough to get the car properly settled. We’ll spend the evening fine-tuning a few areas to improve the setup, and we’ll look at what we can do better for tomorrow.”
Bearman: “Esteban had the new package on this morning, and it performed as we expected, so this afternoon we also put it on. With the changes that made to car balance, I just don’t think we were up to speed because I had quite a lot of understeer out there. I think it’s a good sign though, it shows the change we made is doing the correct thing, but we need to make a few adjustments now to account for that and balance the car. Rain is on our radar and could change things, it’s always a feature of this weekend, but generally our Saturday pace is always a bit better than Friday so I hope with a few tweaks we can be fighting up there tomorrow. Even if it’s been a challenging day, I’ve been in high spirits with a beaming smile – it’s a pleasure to drive this track firstly, but to have the fans supporting like they do is a very special feeling.”
Gasly: “It has been a very difficult Friday for us. As a team we will work hard together as we have some things we need to fix and we need to find some solutions to unlock more performance. We have a clear idea of where we are struggling, mainly in the high speed and lacking grip. It does not feel like anything we have had all season but I know we will dig through it all and aim to find the fixes. We are aiming for a better day tomorrow and I know we can do that with our eyes firmly focused on Qualifying as well as we can.”
Lindblad: “It was amazing. I am extremely grateful to everyone at Red Bull for the opportunity. Amazing to get my first official F1 session. I think I did decent, I felt comfortable in the car and I think the speed was okay. I think I could definitely go a bit quicker with a few more laps but, considering it was my first time in a car that I’ve only done very limited running in F1, I mean for example this weekend I think it is 13, 14 seconds quicker than F2, so the step is enormous. So, all that considered, with the limited prep I’m happy with the job today. I don’t know, I think the reality is these cars are so fast now, especially coming from what I’m used to, that my mental limit is lower than the car’s limit. My mentality going into the session was to really try and push knowing I would be under the limit of the car. So, no I was pushing out there.
“Obviously I am racing in F2 so that’s my main job. But no, Red Bull have been really supportive, I have been working really closely with the engineers for a little while now, getting more up to speed and understanding a bit the game and sort of the level here in F1, so it has been really good. Definitely, as soon as the session was done, I really wanted to get another go. Especially after driving the F2, it felt quite a lot slower and worse. But no, I think it is one of those moments – I think most people, basically everyone doesn’t get the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car so just to get that opportunity I am extremely grateful for. And I am focused on working hard and doing a good job in F2 to be a full-time driver soon.”
Aron: “It was amazing, to be honest, and first of all a massive thank you to Sauber and to Alpine. I think it is not often two rivalling teams let a driver have a chance to drive in both of them, and obviously a massive thank you to Sauber for having the interest and giving me these FP1 opportunities, and to Alpine for letting me come here. And regarding the session, to be honest I felt I got up to speed a lot quicker than I expected. It was great to be at a Formula 1 weekend and knowing I am jumping into the car. This year I have been a reserve driver so I have come here and listened to the meetings but there is never a proper purpose behind it. I think yesterday I was telling everyone in the team that I haven’t felt that much adrenaline in the whole year basically, ever since I stopped racing in Formula 2.
“As for the first time, I knew that everything I was listening, I could apply as I was jumping into the car. Of course I hope for a race seat but, in the end, what I have learned also there is no point to hope to predict things in Formula 1. It is probably the most unpredictable environment I’ve ever been in, in my life. From my side it is easy, I take every opportunity I am given, I try to do the best job at every opportunity and the rest is not up to me. I just try to focus on the things I can control and hopefully that is enough to earn me a seat, but you never know and, in the end, I need to accept the fact there are no guarantees. Just focus on my job and this FP1 for example, I really made sure to be in the moment, enjoy it and not think of any consequences.”
Here’s how FP1 in F1 British GP panned out
Here’s how FP2 in F1 British GP panned out