Max Verstappen set the pace in the first practice session for the British Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver lapped the Silverstone in 1’27.422 on a set of soft tyres. He wasn’t entirely happy with his car’s performance, complaining of a dip in power delivery between Village and The Loop.He ended the session nearly half a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, though the Mercedes driver used the harder medium compound to set his best time. Mercedes have replaced the MGU-K in Hamilton’s car, meaning he is now on the second out of a maximum allocation of three, assuming at least 14 races are held this year.
Lance Stroll made it three different cars in the top three. The Racing Point driver ended the session a tenth shy of Hamilton, and half a second ahead of new team mate Nico Hulkenberg.
The former Renault driver has made a surprise return to his former team in place of Sergio Perez, who has been ruled out of the weekend following a positive Covid-19 test. Hulkenberg arrived in the paddock just minutes before the session was due to begin, having been called up by the team yesterday.
Alexander Albon made it two Red Bulls inside the top five, pipping Charles Leclerc. However the second Ferrari was unable to set a time: Sebastian Vettel was confined to his garage after just two laps so the team could strip down his SF1000 to investigate a problem with its intercooler system.
The Renault pair followed sixth-placed Valtteri Bottas, with Hulkenberg ninth ahead of Daniil Kvyat.
Alfa Romeo’s weekend got off to a poor start as both Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi suffered spins. The latter is under investigation by the stewards over his driving at turn 13. Giovinazzi scattered tyre debris across the track after he rejoined, forcing the session to ne temporarily suspended.
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Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’27.422 | 27 | |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’27.896 | 0.474 | 27 |
3 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’28.004 | 0.582 | 22 |
4 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’28.129 | 0.707 | 24 |
5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’28.221 | 0.799 | 22 |
6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’28.519 | 1.097 | 29 |
7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’28.559 | 1.137 | 26 |
8 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’28.575 | 1.153 | 22 |
9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’28.592 | 1.170 | 23 |
10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’28.868 | 1.446 | 21 |
11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’28.909 | 1.487 | 24 |
12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’28.988 | 1.566 | 24 |
13 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’28.990 | 1.568 | 22 |
14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’29.532 | 2.110 | 23 |
15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’29.576 | 2.154 | 25 |
16 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’29.746 | 2.324 | 24 |
17 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’29.899 | 2.477 | 23 |
18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’29.925 | 2.503 | 17 |
19 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’30.703 | 3.281 | 20 |
20 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 2 |
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First practice visual gaps
Max Verstappen – 1’27.422
+0.474 Lewis Hamilton – 1’27.896
+0.582 Lance Stroll – 1’28.004
+0.707 Alexander Albon – 1’28.129
+0.799 Charles Leclerc – 1’28.221
+1.097 Valtteri Bottas – 1’28.519
+1.137 Esteban Ocon – 1’28.559
+1.153 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’28.575
+1.170 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’28.592
+1.446 Daniil Kvyat – 1’28.868
+1.487 Pierre Gasly – 1’28.909
+1.566 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’28.988
+1.568 Lando Norris – 1’28.990
+2.110 Kevin Magnussen – 1’29.532
+2.154 Romain Grosjean – 1’29.576
+2.324 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’29.746
+2.477 George Russell – 1’29.899
+2.503 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’29.925
+3.281 Nicholas Latifi – 1’30.703
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
2020 British Grand Prix
- Racing Point given 15-point deduction and fined £360,000 as stewards uphold Renault protest
- Missed chance to avoid Hamilton’s puncture “a mistake that could have cost us dearly”
- 2020 British Grand Prix Star Performers
- Silverstone restoring Becketts kerb to previous specification following tyre cuts
- Pirelli investigation reveals ‘highest forces ever’ contributed to Silverstone punctures
John H (@john-h)
31st July 2020, 12:46
Soild result for Hulkenberg considering this is the first drive in a new F1 car for him. His neck must be really feeling it!
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
31st July 2020, 13:42
It’s FP1 and he’s already faster than Vettel!
Rodber
31st July 2020, 13:52
Don’t forget Gio too, lol.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
31st July 2020, 13:55
@ruliemaulana
Lol
Robbie (@robbie)
31st July 2020, 13:48
Confirms that the RP car is pretty solid, for him to be able to do that in his first outing.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
31st July 2020, 13:57
Only first practice @robbie :)
Robbie (@robbie)
31st July 2020, 14:11
@johnrkh Lol of course but that’s my point.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
31st July 2020, 12:47
Lol, I just listened to Toto Wolff, and not once he mentioned the great Ferrari threat.
He did however downplay their advantages.
Chaitanya
31st July 2020, 13:00
Lewis is on 2nd MGU-K unit already so Toto might be little worried.
F1oSaurus (@)
31st July 2020, 13:28
@jureo Amazingly we also don’t hear Verstappen crying anymore about how it’s impossible to go faster than a Mercedes.
Markos
31st July 2020, 13:34
Verstappen accepted this year is thrown away already.
Niki101
31st July 2020, 14:01
But atleast krx, oops, F1oclown keeps crying about Verstappen!
Markos
31st July 2020, 14:09
Wahaha, well he (or she?) is dinosaur, known for not changing their habits ;-)
JacquesNotVilleneuve (@jacquesnotvilleneuve)
31st July 2020, 16:00
Mercedes have a better car, but also better drivers than Ferrari.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
31st July 2020, 18:37
:D Well not that much better.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
31st July 2020, 12:47
Decent start for Hulk
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
31st July 2020, 12:59
I feel like everyone is watching Hulkenberg more than anything else, who would have thought that a couple of days ago?
HK (@me4me)
31st July 2020, 13:17
Just checking if anyone would notice, aren’t you? ;) @keithcollantine
Arnoud van Houwelingen (@kavu)
31st July 2020, 14:20
Lol .. Super softs is so 2019 :)