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Formula 1 British GP

British GP Friday practice

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Verstappen improves to second place, 0.380s off Bottas. His team-mate Gasly still can't quite put a consistent lap together on this latest set, and remains sixth.
Although Verstappen isn't far off at all now, having lapped just 0.610s slower than Bottas and 0.117s slower than Hamilton to move up to third.
Bottas and Hamilton are now both in race run mode, but their 1-2 at the top of the timing screens doesn't look massively likely to be challenged in the final 12 minutes.
Verstappen finally gets a proper lap in on his second set of softs, and this takes him to fourth place, 0.979s slower behind Bottas.
Bottas and Hamilton conclude their respective installation laps on the intermediate tyre, before returning to the pits to switch to the more conventional soft rubber.
Hamilton also heads out on the intermediate tyre, while Norris is taking a set of softs for a (hopefully not literal) spin.
Quote
Mercedes bolts on a set of intermediates on Bottas' W10 and the Finn heads out on track. He is told to do a "gentle install".
And now Sainz makes it an even 20 cars in the pits. This might just be a pretty long final 20 minutes here.
The recent downturn in weather leaves just Sainz on track, the Spaniard persevering with his medium-tyre run.
Radio Comms
"The traffic was horrendous on my lap. People are staying in the middle of the way. So annoying," Leclerc tells Ferrari.
Radio Comms
"Think it's raining," Verstappen says. He is told not to take any risks.
Less than half an hour to go, drivers are going off track left and right now as the combination of some light rainfall and a new surface is creating some minor chaos.
Information
Current top 10: 1 Bottas, 2 Hamilton, 3 Vettel, 4 Leclerc, 5 Verstappen, 6 Gasly, 7 Sainz, 8 Ricciardo, 9 Albon, 10 Perez.
Vettel is now up to third, 0.675s slower than Bottas, while Gasly improves to sixth behind Verstappen.
Stopwatch
Bottas improves to 1m27.629s. That takes him a second clear of Leclerc, although the Monegasque racer was in a fair bit of traffic.
Hamilton has had his first push lap on softs seemingly ruined by a twitch at, yes, Brooklands. Leclerc now moves up to third behind the two Mercedes cars.
Sainz has split the two Red Bulls by moving up to fourth place.
Crash
Albon has been off and through the grass after losing control at, where else, Brooklands. The F1 field is having a lot of problems with that corner in FP1.
Radio Comms
"There is a risk of a shower maybe hitting the track at some point," Hamilton is told.
Grosjean finally has a proper time on the board, but he remains last in the classification, 4.9s off the pace.
Crash
Grosjean's first flying lap of the session is ruined by a spin at Brooklands.
Grosjean, who is alone in not having set a time due to his earlier pit exit mishap, heads out on a fresh set of softs.
Green flag
And we're back under green.
Raikkonen's car is now being sloooowly rolled backwards across the track, the speed of the recovery probably not helped by the Finn being sat on the car as he helps steer the stricken C38.
Replays show Raikkonen's C38 more or less give up the ghost on the Wellington straight, before eventually coming to a halt on the outside of Luffield. There was a whiff of smoke as he slowed, so it might very well be engine trouble.
Red flag
Raikkonen is stopped on track at Luffield, and is unable to get going again. "We broke something," he tells Alfa Romeo. That's a red flag.
Radio Comms
"If you look at Turn 3, Turn 4, it's like we have a problem with the car," Albon reports to Toro Rosso, despite being in a very respectable seventh place.
Stopwatch
Bottas is back ahead of his squadmate Hamilton with a 1m27.832s.
Radio Comms
Vettel has now pitted after reporting "something loose" on the bodywork.
Gasly is now up to fourth, shuffling Vettel down to sixth and the other Ferrari of Leclerc to ninth. Both Ferraris are on softs, as are Gasly and Verstappen.
Stopwatch
Hamilton gets closer still to last year, as he strings together three purple sectors for a 1m28.122s. Bottas, Verstappen, Perez (!) and Vettel are making up the top five.
Stopwatch
Bottas retakes the top spot with a 1m28.562s. We're edging closer and closer to last year's FP1 benchmark from Lewis Hamilton.
Crash
Norris chucks it into a spin at Club, but manages to quickly get his McLaren facing the right way again.

By: Geoff Creighton

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