Teams and drivers took to the Silverstone track this afternoon with hoards of fans returning to the grandstands as we head into the first format shake-up of the season.
There was just one practice session this afternoon ahead of Qualifying as teams grapple to figure out the perfect setup to ensure top performance before the cars enter parc ferme.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had an impressive afternoon, looking comfortable as ever in his RB16B, crossing the line fastest in 1:27.035s on soft Pirellis.
McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton were the Dutchman’s closest competitors this afternoon, in P2 and P3 respectively, seven-tenths off his pace.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was in fourth when time ran out on the soft tyres, ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in 5th on mediums.
It was a good opening performance for the prancing horses with Carlos Sainz joining his teammate in the top 10 after running 6th fastest.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel was looking competitive in the Aston Martin up in 7th, while his teammate Lance Stroll reported having ‘no confidence right now’ as he trailed in 18th.
Closing out the top ten this afternoon was the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who was 1.1s off his championship-leading teammate, followed by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in 9th and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 10th.
Teams now enter parc ferme conditions ahead of Qualifying this afternoon, which will decide the order of tomorrow’s highly-anticipated Sprint Race at Silverstone.
Here are the full results from FP1:
