Home crowd cheers as Hamilton tops British GP practice

Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the only practice session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, giving his home crowd plenty to cheer on the opening day of the weekend. Hamilton’s best lap of 1:29.260 put him 0.213 seconds ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc third and George Russell fourth. Hamilton had played down expectations before the weekend, but his early speed suggested strong form at a circuit where he has won nine times before as he chased a record-breaking eighth world title and a 10th Silverstone victory.

The session took place during a compressed sprint weekend, with teams getting just one hour of practice before sprint qualifying later on Friday. In bright, dry 23C conditions, all drivers began on hard tires while gathering setup and tire data, then switched to softer rubber late in the hour. Antonelli briefly went quickest before Hamilton reclaimed first place, while Leclerc and Russell completed the top four. Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.

Piastri spun at Becketts, and Norris went out early and finished more than a second off the pace. McLaren and Red Bull looked a little behind the leading runners. Audi impressed on a single lap, with Hülkenberg inside the top 10, while Cadillac’s upgraded package appeared to bring it closer to Aston Martin, although reliability concerns were not fully resolved. Organizers expected a record British Grand Prix crowd of 500,000 spectators.