Hamilton tops sole practice at British Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton has put in the fastest lap in the only practice session at the British Grand Prix, pipping the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

At the Silverstone circuit, all of the F1 teams and drivers only had a single hour of practice ahead of the British Grand Prix, with the British event holding the sprint race format for the first time since its inception, back in 2021.

By the end of the single practice session, it was a familiar face who topped the timing boards with nine-time British GP winner and Ferrari’s seven-time world champion, Hamilton, going fastest around the circuit.

Despite the seven-time world champion worrying about a potential ‘deficit‘ in terms of power deployment around Silverstone, Ferrari’s #44 set the best time of a one-minute, 29.260 seconds lap. In turn, this pipped both the championship leader, Antonelli, and Hamilton’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, who were 0.213s and 0.599s back, respectively.

Ferrari identified improvements ahead of British Grand Prix

With crucial running needed for the single hour of practice, the session went on without any major disruptions, but it wasn’t without issue.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri spun off on the exit of Becketts, Turn 13. Thankfully, the Australian was able to keep his special-liveried car out of the barrier, halfway through the session, and continued on his way. But his hard tyres were done, and he later came back out for a soft-tyre performance run.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was later noted for a yellow-flag infringement at the same corner, but this was deemed no further action by the stewards.

Despite everyone, bar the Alpines, moving onto softer rubber for their performance sprints ahead of Sprint Qualifying, no one could topple Antonelli’s best time until Hamilton did.

Mercedes can’t assume their recent performance will continue at British Grand Prix

Across his lap, the seven-time world champion kept his time within a tenth of Antonelli out front on his best run. It wasn’t until the final sector, running through Stowe, Vale and Club corner, that the seven-time world champion was able to pull out two-tenths over the Mercedes teenager.

So, who finished where at the end of Free Practice 1?

FP1 classification:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari – 1m 29.26s
2. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.213s
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.599s
4. George Russell, Mercedes +0.678s
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.887s
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull +0.98s
7. Lando Norris, McLaren +1.028s
8. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull +1.078s
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +1.483s
10. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.59s
11. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.706s
12. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.775s
13. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +2.079s
14. Oliver Bearman, Haas +2.113s
15. Carlos Sainz, Williams +2.424s
16. Esteban Ocon, Haas +2.424s
17. Alexander Albon, Williams 2.437s
18. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +2.89s 
19. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.981s
20. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +3.697s
21. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +3.759s
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +3.870s

Sprint qualifying is next on the schedule, starting at 16:30 local time.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Mercedes can’t assume their recent performance will continue at British Grand Prix
• Ferrari identified improvements ahead of British Grand Prix
• The Rise Of Racing Bulls: Can They Keep The Double-Points Streak Going At Silverstone?
• Formula 1 brings back LEGO cars for British Grand Prix
• Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm set to feed Alpine at British Grand Prix
• McLaren to run striking one-off livery at British Grand Prix
• Writers Verdict: 2026 Austrian Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.