British GP 2025

JULY 4, 2025

Practice 1 Report - Hamilton heads first session in front of home crowd

Lewis Hamilton
© Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton thrilled the home fans at Silverstone by topping the timesheets in the opening practice session for the British Grand Prix, edging out both McLarens to begin his weekend in commanding form.

The seven-time world champion, now racing for Ferrari, has endured a mixed debut season with the Scuderia. But at the circuit where he’s taken a record nine wins, Hamilton rekindled his Silverstone magic with a late flyer of 1m26.892s. That time put him just ahead of Lando Norris, who continues his championship challenge in the upgraded McLaren. Norris clocked 1m26.913s, with team-mate Oscar Piastri only 0.033s behind.

Charles Leclerc backed up Ferrari’s pace with the fourth-fastest time, showing signs of improved form following a difficult stretch of races for the Italian team. George Russell, who had gone fastest midway through the session, was ultimately pushed down to fifth in the Mercedes GP.

Red Bull endured a subdued start to their weekend. Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, was only 10th fastest after appearing to struggle with balance and grip. His new team-mate for the session, 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad, made his F1 debut under special FIA dispensation. The British teenager impressed by ending the session just over half a second adrift of Verstappen in P12, a strong start to his Red Bull career.

There was also plenty of attention on the British contingent, with four home drivers on track. Alongside Hamilton, Norris, and Russell, Oliver Bearman continued his rookie campaign with Haas but finished 18th after a relatively quiet session. Gabriel Bortoleto, fresh from scoring his first F1 points last weekend in Austria for Sauber, had a wild moment at Copse when he ran wide and took to the grass, narrowly avoiding damage. Earlier, Pierre Gasly had a near-identical incident at the same corner, spinning his Alpine 360 degrees before recovering.

With Nico Hülkenberg sitting out the session, Sauber fielded Paul Aron in the second car. The Alpine junior was called up under their driver-sharing agreement and placed 17th in his FP1 outing.

Sunny and dry conditions are forecast to continue through the weekend, suggesting a representative session to start the weekend — and one that bodes well for a fiercely competitive qualifying day ahead.