F1: Verstappen dominates opening British GP practice

Red Bull Honda driver Max Verstappen dominated opening practice for the British GP by a massive 0.779s with a lap of 1m27.035s.  With Sprint race qualifying up next, Verstappen is looking good for pole.

Britain’s Lando Norris was 2nd quick for McLaren, a hair’s breadth ahead of Hamilton in third. But when you consider Norris was running the medium tire to Hamilton’s soft, that time takes on a new complexion.

Local hero Lewis Hamilton was 3rd quick for Mercedes, but his time down on Verstappen brought a deafening silence to the bias British crowd. When Hamilton heard from his crew on the radio that he was that far down on Verstappen, he said, “where did that lap come from?”

Charles Leclerc was 4th for Ferrari, 0.793s off the pace, while Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top-5 in the 2nd Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz Jr, Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top-10.

Aside from those four teams then – Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari – the pecking order is anyone’s guess. Aston Martin looked strong in parts, and so did Alpine despite Alonso complaining about understeer throughout that session.

Practice 1 Results