Silverstone FP1 Results: Hamilton Leads Ferrari One-Two in Practice

Lewis Hamilton gave the Silverstone faithful exactly what they paid for. The nine-time British Grand Prix winner topped the only practice session of the weekend, going quickest on both hard and soft tyres. Max Verstappen, by contrast, ended up nearly a second behind in sixth. Red Bull’s Austrian optimism did not survive the flight to Northamptonshire.

Hamilton and Ferrari Look the Part

Hamilton’s best lap of 1:29.260 came late in the session on soft Pirellis, putting him two-tenths clear of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. What made it more impressive is that Hamilton was also the benchmark on the hard compound earlier in the session. When Mercedes fitted softs, Antonelli went fastest with a 1:29.4, looking briefly untouchable. Hamilton then responded with a lap that knocked him off the top. Clean, calm, clinical.

Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, though six-tenths behind his teammate is a sizeable gap even for a practice session. George Russell was fourth, 0.678s adrift, which will not sit comfortably given the scrutiny Russell has been under heading into this weekend.

Verstappen’s Soft-Tyre Problem

Red Bull had showed reasonable pace on the hards in the opening phase, with Isack Hadjar briefly mixing it near the top. Then the softs went on, and the picture changed entirely. Both Red Bulls conceded nearly a second to Hamilton. Verstappen was already 0.7s down after just two sectors on his flying lap. The RB22 simply does not want to rotate through the corners on the red-walled Pirellis. That is a problem that will not disappear by Saturday morning.

Verstappen also caught the attention of the stewards after arguably not slowing sufficiently for yellow flags following a spin by Oscar Piastri at Chapel. The investigation was quickly closed with no further action, but it was another minor irritation on a session that offered little comfort. For context on just how far Ferrari have come at this circuit, this practice result feels significant.

The Incidents Worth Noting

Piastri’s high-speed spin brought out the yellows and ended his hard-tyre run early. “Just tyres are dead,” he reported over the radio, which at least explains the moment if not entirely excuse it. He avoided the barriers, so the drama was contained.

Nico Hulkenberg drew the ire of Liam Lawson‘s camp after pulling out of the pit lane directly alongside Lawson through turns three and four. Lawson called it “crazy” on the radio, his engineer used the word “unacceptable.” No contact, but unnecessary all the same.

Championship Context

Hamilton sits 46 points behind Antonelli in the standings. A tenth Silverstone win would not close that gap alone, but it would send a message. The trust Hamilton has rebuilt at Ferrari appears to be paying dividends on the track. One practice session proves nothing, of course. Sprint qualifying follows at 15:30 UTC (check the calendar for your local time), and that is where the hard truths will emerge. Red Bull had better hope the data shows something the timesheets are hiding.

FP1 Full Results: 2026 British Grand Prix