Hamilton Tops Silverstone Practice for British GP

In the only practice session for the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time, leading the field at Silverstone. The seven-time champion finished the session 0.213 seconds ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, outpaced George Russell from Mercedes, who had been the previous week’s winner in Austria.

In the session, Oscar Piastri from McLaren ranked fifth fastest, but lagged 0.887 seconds behind Hamilton despite experiencing a spin at Becketts midway through the practice. Max Verstappen from Red Bull managed to secure sixth place, finishing 0.980 seconds behind Hamilton while clearly struggling for grip. He was followed by Lando Norris of McLaren and Isack Hadjar from Red Bull, rounding out the top eight.

Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber and Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls completed the top ten. The practice session unfolded under clear blue skies with temperatures reaching 23°C. Record attendance is anticipated for the weekend, with an estimated 500,000 people expected at Silverstone.

Hamilton, who holds the record for the most wins at this race with nine victories, surprised many by setting the fastest time, especially since he had predicted prior to the session that Ferrari might lose much time on the straights compared to Mercedes. Hamilton’s performance diverged from his previous struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix, where he achieved a fifth-place finish, two weeks after celebrating his first Ferrari victory in Barcelona.

Apart from Piastri's spin, the session was largely uneventful. The sprint qualifying event is set to begin at 16:30 BST.