Bottas breaks track record and heads FP1 at Silverstone

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Mercedes Valtteri Bottas picked up where he left off in Austria last week, clocking in Friday morning at Silverstone with the fastest lap in FP1.

With a 1:29.106, the Finn beat the track's lap record, set by team mate Lewis Hamilton in Q2 last year.

The Brit was right on the heels of Bottas however, ending the session just 0.078 behind. Both drivers relied on Pirelli's Soft compound to set their fastest times.

The German squad's performance was rather ominous given that Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were about half a second adrift but on the theoretically faster Supersoft tyres.

It was a rather scrappy session for Ferrari, with both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel appearing to struggle for grip, the latter spinning and forcing him into the pits for a tyre change.

Toro Rosso's Dany Kvyat was P7, just in front of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Both McLaren drivers made it into the top ten, with Stoffel Vandoorne rounding out the group.

Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi slotted in for Kevin Magnussen at Haas and ended the session P16, four-tenths of a second off team mate Romain Grosjean.

British Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:29.106s		29
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:29.184s	+ 0.078s	29
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:29.604s	+ 0.498s	26
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:29.942s	+ 0.836s	19
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:30.137s	+ 1.031s	19
6	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:30.517s	+ 1.411s	19
7	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:30.895s	+ 1.789s	21
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:30.993s	+ 1.887s	20
9	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:30.999s	+ 1.893s	26
10	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:31.041s	+ 1.935s	27
11	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:31.200s	+ 2.094s	24
12	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:31.210s	+ 2.104s	32
13	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:31.297s	+ 2.191s	34
14	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:31.610s	+ 2.504s	24
15	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:31.684s	+ 2.578s	24
16	Antonio Giovinazzi	Haas	1:32.031s	+ 2.925s	24
17	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:32.171s	+ 3.065s	19
18	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:32.450s	+ 3.344s	16
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:33.029s	+ 3.923s	23
20	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:33.399s	+ 4.293s	26

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.