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F1 Grand Prix practice results: Sainz fastest in British GP on Friday

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fastest during British Grand Prix practice on Friday, ahead of the Mercedes of Silverstone’s hero Lewis Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75

Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was fastest in a wet FP1, while Sainz topped FP2 in much dryer weather conditions. Hamilton, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were next up.

F1 British Grand Prix FP1 results: Bottas fastest from Hamilton

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 9 1'42.249     207.411
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 10 1'42.781 0.532 0.532 206.337
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 8 1'42.967 0.718 0.186 205.965
4 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 7 1'43.801 1.552 0.834 204.310
5 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 3 1'43.895 1.646 0.094 204.125
6 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 4 1'46.171 3.922 2.276 199.749
7 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 3 1'48.161 5.912 1.990 196.074
8 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 5 1'51.243 8.994 3.082 190.642
9 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 5 1'51.373 9.124 0.130 190.419
10 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 5 1'59.168 16.919 7.795 177.963
11 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 2        
12 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 3        
13 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 2        
14 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1        
15 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1        
16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 4        
17 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 3        
18 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 4        
19 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 1        
20 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 3        

What happened in F1 British GP Free Practice 1?

Rain at the start of the session soaked half of the circuit but the other side of the track remained dry, which severely limited running across the hour.

Sainz set the bar at 1m42.967s on intermediate tyres, ahead of Bottas on 1m43.437s and team-mate Leclerc on 1m43.801s.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was the first to take slicks with just over five minutes remaining, as Bottas improved to P1 on 1m42.249s on inters.

Hamilton set 1m42.781 – the only driver to set a time on slicks – to take P2, 0.532s off Bottas’s pace. Sainz and Leclerc finished third and fourth, ahead of Mick Schumacher’s Haas.

Lance Stroll beached his Aston Martin after spinning at Copse, causing a red flag that halted the session prematurely.

F1 British Grand Prix FP2 results: Sainz fastest from Hamilton

Cla Driver Chassis Laps Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 28 1'28.942     238.443
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 21 1'29.105 0.163 0.163 238.006
3 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 29 1'29.118 0.176 0.013 237.972
4 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 18 1'29.149 0.207 0.031 237.889
5 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 25 1'29.404 0.462 0.255 237.210
6 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 19 1'29.695 0.753 0.291 236.441
7 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 17 1'29.753 0.811 0.058 236.288
8 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 29 1'29.799 0.857 0.046 236.167
9 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 26 1'29.902 0.960 0.103 235.896
10 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 17 1'29.942 1.000 0.040 235.791
11 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 29 1'30.000 1.058 0.058 235.640
12 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 20 1'30.057 1.115 0.057 235.490
13 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 12 1'30.238 1.296 0.181 235.018
14 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 14 1'30.263 1.321 0.025 234.953
15 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 27 1'30.271 1.329 0.008 234.932
16 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 29 1'30.338 1.396 0.067 234.758
17 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 27 1'30.480 1.538 0.142 234.389
18 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 28 1'30.510 1.568 0.030 234.312
19 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 29 1'30.609 1.667 0.099 234.056
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 27 1'31.326 2.384 0.717 232.218

What happened in F1 British GP Free Practice 2?

In dry and sunny conditions, Verstappen set the early pace at 1m41.438s on medium slicks. It was quickly beaten by Leclerc on 1m30.786s, on the same compound, who was 0.094s faster than team-mate Sainz.

Sainz improved to 1m29.962s on a second push lap, with Verstappen over half a second shy. Leclerc took top spot back with 1m29.639s, and then improved to 1m29.462s. Sainz did likewise to take second, 0.081s in arrears, ahead of Verstappen who was over four tenths off in third.

Norris then enjoyed an early glory run on soft tyres in front of his home fans, taking the fastest time with 1m29.118s. Sainz had a big moment at Copse, setting a new top time at 1m29.014s despite this, before producing a 1m28.942s on a second push lap to extend his advantage at the top.

Hamilton went second with 1m29.105s, 0.163s down on Sainz but just clear of Norris.

Verstappen only managed 1m29.149s for fourth, two tenths off the pace. Leclerc had a poor first soft-tyre run, and languished in fifth, over four tenths away from his team-mate’s best time.

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