Norris tops second practice for British home GP
Formula One title contender Lando Norris topped the second practice for his British home Grand Prix on Friday after being second in the first session.
The McLaren driver clocked 1 minute 25.816 seconds in Silverstone to set the fastest time of the day and beat the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by 0.222s.
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Lewis Hamilton, who topped the first practice earlier, completed the top three ahead of drivers' championship leader Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton is yet to be on the podium since his blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari this season. His best result this year was fourth place at the Emilia-Romagna GP and at the Austrian GP.
He will hope to claim at least a podium finish at his home track, in which he's the record winner with nine victories.
Norris, meanwhile, is chasing a first win in front of his home crowd.
He bounced back from a catastrophic weekend in Canada - in which he crashed into team-mate Piastri - to win the Austrian Grand Prix last week and cut the gap to Piastri in the drivers' standings to 15 points.
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At Silverstone, it will be Red Bull who will try to overcome their terrible weekend in Austria as defending champion Max Verstappen was knocked out of the race in the first lap after an incident with Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, and Yuki Tsunoda finished 16th.
Verstappen was fifth in second practice - a clear improvement from 10th in the first session - while Tsunoda was 15th. The Japanese driver didn't run in first practice as he made way for Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.
Verstappen's future continues to be a major talking point with Sky Italy reporting earlier this week that the Dutchman is open to joining Mercedes next year.
Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff admitted that conversations were taking place with Verstappen, who has a Red Bull contract until 2028.
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, meanwhile, said it's "impossible to say 100%" that Verstappen will be driving for the team in 2026.
Verstappen, who has won his four F1 titles with the Austrian outfit, has repeatedly avoided stating he will be at Red Bull next season.
According to media reports, his contract includes a clause in which he would be allowed to leave Red Bull after this season if he's not in the top four of the drivers' standings at the start of the summer break following the Hungarian Grand Prix on August 3.
He's currently third, nine points ahead of Mercedes driver and fourth-placed George Russell.
Qualifying for Sunday's showdown is on Saturday after the final practice.
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