During the opening practice session of the British Grand Prix weekend, Lando Norris led the way ahead of Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri, in front of his home crowd at McLaren.
Fresh off his victory in Austria, George Russell took the lead as Free Practice 1 began in dry conditions at the British Grand Prix. Despite the threat of rain with a 60% chance, Russell quickly set an initial time of 1m 28.888s.
Rising stars Oliver Bearman, Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto, and Jack Doohan hit the track, showcasing their skills. Bearman, gearing up for his 2025 debut with Haas, was joined by fellow F2 drivers Hadjar and Colapinto, with Doohan representing Alpine.
The session saw early drama when Yuki Tsunoda’s RB got stuck in the gravel at Luffield, bringing out the red flags just 10 minutes in. With 44 minutes left, the session resumed, and drivers swiftly returned to their programs.
Carlos Sainz, surrounded by rumors about his 2025 plans, set the fastest time halfway through the session with a 1m 27.925s on hard tyres. Light drizzle later saw Oscar Piastri reporting potential hydraulic issues, forcing him to bring his McLaren back to the pits slowly.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris had a smoother run, posting the quickest lap at 1m 27.420s on soft tyres, just 0.134s ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Piastri, despite his issues, clocked the third-fastest time, with Max Verstappen in fourth for Red Bull. Mercedes’ Russell and Lewis Hamilton secured fifth and seventh positions, sandwiching Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in sixth.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sainz followed in P8 and P9, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon completing the top 10. Nico Hulkenberg took P11 for Haas, followed by Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), Daniel Ricciardo (RB), Bearman, and Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber).
Alex Albon finished 16th for Williams, with Doohan in 17th after technical issues limited his track time. Colapinto took 18th place, while Hadjar, narrowly avoiding a collision with Norris, finished 19th. Tsunoda’s earlier incident left him in 20th.
With FP1 over, teams and drivers now focus on the next practice session at 1600 local time to fine-tune their strategies for the weekend ahead.
