British GP: Norris tops first practice as McLaren pace impresses

Lando Norris topped Friday’s first practice at Silverstone onboard McLaren’s updated MCL38, the Briton edging Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll by a margin of 0.134s with Oscar Piastri in third.

While the latter confirmed McLaren’s strong early form, Piastri’s session was cut short by an apparent hydraulic issue.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fourth fastest in FP1, 0.309s adrift from Norris, while George Russell rounded off the top five for Mercedes.

• British Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Friday’s action kicked off under an overcast sky and cool temperatures, meaning grip was at a premium from the outset.

The tricky conditions only added to the challenges faced by the session’s four rookies – Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.

As a warning to the latter, and to the entire field, Yuki Tsunoda lost the rear end of his RB at Luffield, the Japanese driver beaching his car which inevitably brought out the red flag but more importantly put an end to his session.

Russell, last weekend’s Austrian GP winner, had slotted into the top spot just before the red was brandished, with a 1m888s that edged Verstappen by 0.214s.

With Tsunoda’s car cleared, the session got back under way, and Bearman - while it was early in the session - was the first driver to bolt on a set of softs. The young Briton’s flyer was good enough for P5.

However, rotations were fast and furious among the top-ten, with Sainz popping to the top followed by Hamilton and Russell, with all three drivers running on the hards.

Shortly after, however, Verstappen took command after putting a 1m27.764s on the board, with Russell, Leclerc and Sainz following thereafter and everyone setting their times on the medium tyre, indicating that all three compounds were relevant.

But out of the blue, with 20 minutes to go, Piastri blasted to the top, the McLaren charger hammering in on the softs a 1m27.631. But spreads were tight with just 0.294s separating the top-seven.

Not to be outdone, Norris picked up the baton from his teammate at the front, while Aston’s Stroll slotted in between the two McLarens, the trio setting their times on the Softs.

Unfortunately, with less than ten minutes left on the clock, an apparent hydraulic failure put paid to Piastri’s efforts whose MCL38 grounded to a halt in the pitlane entry.

Meanwhile, Leclerc avoided a potential disaster when he stumbled upon a slow moving and indecisive Stroll at Becketts, nearly collecting the Canadian.

The same situation befell Norris who endured a hairy moment with an inattentive Hadjar, the McLaren driver locking up and putting a wheel in the grass during the commotion.

But Norris topped the timesheet at the end of the session, with McLaren looking strong from the outset. Stroll’s best flyer kept the Aston driver in the runner-up spot while Piastri Verstappen and Russell completed the top five.

Thereafter followed Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz and Ocon, with 0.554s separating the top ten.

In the second half of the field, while Hulkenberg clocked in just outside the top ten, Bearman was half a second behind his Haas teammate but the fastest apprentice among the rookies.

Doohan, Colapinto and Hadjar closed out the pecking order, with Tsunoda inevitably last due to his early demise.

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