Lando Norris was fastest for McLaren in a tight opening practice session at the British Grand Prix.
The Brit, looking to bounce back from his controversial collision with world championship leader Max Verstappen last weekend in Austria, took advantage of McLaren choosing to run soft tyres to top the timesheet.
Norris was a tenth of a second faster than Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who also ran soft tyres, with his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri two tenths back in third, before a technical issue cut the Australian’s participation in the session short.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team – along with Mercedes and Ferrari – chose not to run the theoretically fastest soft tyre, was the best of the rest in fourth as the RB20 debuted an upgraded floor.
George Russell, who benefitted from the Verstappen-Norris crash to win in Austria, was fifth for Mercedes, once more outpacing team-mate Lewis Hamilton who finished seventh behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari showed little sign of reversing from their recent drop off in form as Charles Leclerc was eighth, a place ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz.
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Ted Kravitz brings updates of the RB20’s floor changes from the pit lane
Yuki Tsunoda was last after beaching his RB in the gravel within the opening 10 minutes, triggering a brief red flag stoppage and ending his participation in the session.
British teenager Oliver Bearman, fresh off signing a deal to drive for Haas next season on Thursday, was the highest placed of four drivers fulfilling the young driver sessions F1 teams are obliged to fulfil throughout the season.
The 19-year-old was 14th, while Jack Doohan (Alpine, Franco Colapinto (Williams), and Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) occupied the three places above Tsunoda on the timesheet.
British GP perfectly poised after tight first session
Following morning showers at Silverstone, the track was dry enough for soft tyres and the rain largely held off aside from a little bit of drizzle in the closing moments of the session.
All eyes were on Verstappen and Norris following the collision in Austria that led to the latter’s retirement and ultimately saw the Dutchman extend his advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings to 81 points.
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McLaren’s Lando Norris avoids a huge crash with F2 driver Isack Hadjar during the first practice session at Silverstone
The fact that, after initial hard-tyre running, McLaren went for softs and Red Bull mediums made it difficult to gauge who has the early upper hand in what is expected to be another close battle between the teams at Silverstone.
The 0.3s margin to Verstappen that Norris ended the session with is in the approximate region that he would be expected to benefit from using the faster compound, leaving the weekend perfectly poised heading into second practice later on Friday.
There may also just be some slight concern at McLaren following what appeared to by a hydraulic issue for Piastri, that left him stranded in the pit lane with seven minutes of the session to go and needing to be wheeled back to his garage.
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Charles Leclerc encounters a close shave with Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll during the first practice session at Silverstone
The fact that the in-form Russell finished just a fraction behind Verstappen also suggests that Mercedes could once more be in the mix this weekend, with the Silver Arrows’ recent upgrades having re-established them as a contender at the front of the the grid.
Aside from the intriguing spectacle up front, there were a couple of scary moments in the opening 60 minutes of actions as Norris and Leclerc almost became victims of poor driving from others.
Leclerc narrowly avoided with Stroll’s slow-moving Aston Martin, while Norris had to go off track to avoid rookie Hadjar’s Red Bull in the closing stages, with the stewards deciding to review both incidents after the session.
Sky Sports F1’s live British GP schedule (all F1 sessions on Sky Showcase)
Friday July 5
2.05pm: F3 Qualifying
3pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: British GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
Saturday July 6
9.15am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: British GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: British GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 7
8:15am: F3 Feature Race
9:50am: F2 Feature Race
11:50am: Porsche Supercup
1:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – British GP build-up
3pm: The BRITISH GRAND PRIX
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
6pm: Ted’s Notebook
F1’s summer triple-header concludes with the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime