Lewis Hamilton sets pace in first practice to aid hopes of ending podium drought
The 40-year-old has also finished in the top three in all of his last 11 appearances here but is yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari colours.
The Scuderia delivered an improved performance in Austria last weekend, with Charles Leclerc third ahead of Hamilton in fourth.
Hamilton, whose streak of 11 races without a podium finish is the longest of his career – continued that progress by finishing 0.023 seconds ahead of compatriot Lando Norris.
Norris trails McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 15 points in the championship standings following his victory in Austria and is bidding to secure back-to-back Formula One wins for the first time.
The 25-year-old has his own grandstand at Silverstone, hosting 10,000 of his fans, and they would have enjoyed seeing a British duo at the top of the standings during Friday's opening running.
Piastri was third fastest, 0.150sec off the pace, ahead of Leclerc in fourth.
Max Verstappen, who is now 61 points behind Piastri in the standings after his first-lap elimination in Austria, again complained about handling issues with his Red Bull.
British driver Arvid Lindblad drove for Red Bull in first practice (Bradley Collyer/PA)
The four-time world champion was only 10th fastest
British driver Arvid Lindblad drove the other Red Bull during first practice – becoming only the second driver under 18 to take part in a Grand Prix weekend, after Verstappen.
The 17-year-old delivered a respectable lap time to finish 13th.
George Russell, whose future has dominated talk ahead of the weekend, was fifth for Mercedes.
Second practice gets under way at 1600 BST.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Zak Brown: F1 is a better place without Christian Horner
Zak Brown has said that Formula One is 'healthier' without Christian Horner and that the sport will be 'in a better place' without the former Red Bull team principal Horner was axed from his role with the F1 team in July after a turbulent final 18 months with the outfit. He was investigated for inappropriate behaviour last year, though was later cleared after two separate investigations. On the track, Red Bull's results have declined dramatically since mid-2024 and numerous high-profile figures in the team have left during that time. Horner has been replaced by Laurent Mekies, and Brown, the McLaren chief executive and long-time rival of Horner's, said that he felt more comfortable with the Frenchman in charge at the Milton Keynes-based team. McLaren and Red Bull – and Horner and Brown – have had numerous spats over recent years as the two teams battled each other for honours on the track. 'I'm happy Laurent's in the role he is in,' Brown said. 'I like Laurent, that'll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track. 'There's always going to be some political aspects to the sport, but I think it is going to be healthier with Laurent. I'm a fan of Laurent, I have known him for a long time, and it'll be good to go racing against him.' One of the main areas of dispute between the pair was over Red Bull's breach of the cost cap for the 2021 season, when they won the drivers' championship with Max Verstappen. The team were found guilty in 2022 of a 'minor overspend' of the FIA's $145m budget constraint the previous year. They avoided any sporting penalty but were deducted development time from their allocation. There was also a war of words between the pair about alleged breaches of the technical regulations over the last year. One related to McLaren's 'flexi rear wing' that appeared to give them an advantage on the straights and another was about the team allegedly putting water in their tyres to help with cooling. Brown said Red Bull's actions occasionally crossed the line. 'It went too far. There's always going to be politicking in F1 – let's try and shut down their flexi-wings and that stuff, but when you start getting into frivolous allegations, that's just going too far. 'If I look up and down pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed, and that line got crossed before,' Brown added. 'I think that we'll see a little bit of a change for the better. There's a higher level of trust that now if we sit down and have a conversation on a topic where we think there could be some confidentiality, and it's just not an automatic 'I'm going to use that as a political weapon'. 'We're going to be in a better place, a little bit more unified, and a little bit more trusting that while we're fighting on track, we can have a conversation about what's good for the sport off it. And that won't get manipulated for political reasons and taken out of context.' In an interview with Telegraph Sport earlier this year, Brown – whose rivalry with Horner was captured in the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive – said the on-screen animosity was not manufactured for the benefit of viewers. 'There's no love lost there. I don't like how he rolls and no doubt he feels the same about me. But I think it's good for the sport. You need different characters. You need these rivalries. Some are friendly, sporting rivalries. Some are a bit more vicious. It's always been like that.'
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Lions chief executive says Andy Farrell in ‘strong position' to return as coach
Andy Farrell's credentials to remain British and Irish Lions head coach for the 2029 tour to New Zealand have been endorsed by chief executive Ben Calveley. Farrell has steered the Lions to their first series triumph since 2013 with Saturday's 22-12 defeat by the Wallabies in Sydney the only loss of their nine-fixture visit to Australia. Even if their march towards the whitewash was conclusively halted at the final hurdle, the 50-year-old Ireland boss has presided over a successful tour notable for its results, squad cohesion, commitment to playing rugby and the character shown to win the second Test in the dying seconds. #Lions2025: completed ✅ — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 Planning for 2029 is already underway with Calveley promising a similar structure and number of games to the itinerary just completed, although the final midweek fixture will be looked at closely because of the disruption it causes to Test preparations. Farrell is the favourite to lead that expedition and Calveley suggests that the most coveted post in British and Irish rugby is currently his to lose. 'Andy's done an incredible job and I have really enjoyed working with him,' Calveley said. 'I go right back to when I first met him to offer him the role. You could see right then that we had made the right decision in appointing Andy. 'Since he has started full time back in December, he has brought a real focus to the operation which has ultimately resulted in success on the field of play. We will now give him a bit of time off. 'When it comes to our appointments for future tours, we will start the process in about two years and I don't think it would be right to comment on where it ends up. But certainly he has put himself in a very strong position, let's put it that way.' Series winners, 2025 🏆🦁 #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 Australia entered the series ranked eighth in the world and their credibility as an ongoing Lions tour destination was at stake before the Suncorp Stadium opener. Their thumping in Brisbane was an inauspicious start, but at Melbourne Cricket Ground they went within 51 seconds of levelling the series before emerging emphatic winners on Saturday. The Lions won the series by an aggregate score of just 68-67 and their opponents led for more time across the three Tests. Factor in profits that are 'significantly higher than anything we've seen in the past' and it is clear that the Wallabies will continue to be adversaries for the elite of British and Irish rugby. 'I would absolutely envisage returning to Australia. I know there's been loads of speculation about whether that would be the case or not, but we've had a wonderful tour here,' Calveley said. 'It's 100 per cent our ambition to return and we would want the next one to be bigger and better than this one.' The Lions are seen as potentially being vulnerable to the proposed new breakaway franchise league R360, but Calveley insists their pulling power remains as strong as ever. 'You have seen these quotes come from players at every stage throughout the tour is that they remain absolutely committed to the Lions,' he said. 'We all know that we have our place in the calendar baked into regulation 9 and I wouldn't see that changing in the future. 'Our relationship with the professional game is better than it has ever been and I would see that continuing in the future.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton trashed as Bernie Ecclestone comments on doing a deal with Christian Horner
Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a successful season with Ferrari have likely already been dashed, with the former Mercedes man struggling to make an impact in his first year with the Scuderia Bernie Ecclestone has launched a scathing attack on Lewis Hamilton, dismissing the seven-time world champion's prospects of securing another title. The Formula One supremo and former chief executive also suggested it might be time for the 40-year-old to call time on his career. Hamilton's woes at Ferrari persisted during Saturday's qualifying session in Hungary, where he could only manage 12th place on the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. The Brit currently sits sixth in the championship standings, with any realistic hopes of mounting a title challenge in 2025 already extinguished. The ex-Mercedes driver had been expected to experience a revival at the Italian outfit following his surprising switch from the Silver Arrows at the conclusion of last season. When quizzed by Sky Sports about rumours linking him and axed Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to a potential takeover at Alpine, Ecclestone delivered a withering response: "More chance of Lewis winning his eighth title than that happening." Pressed to expand on his comments, he continued: "I think Lewis has done a fantastic job. He's still super talented. But I think maybe he ought to move over a little bit. Be terrible if something happened to him now," reports the Express. The veteran motorsport figure also touched upon Horner's departure after two decades leading Red Bull, acknowledging he had associates within the team who were involved in the dismissal and arguing they needed to act decisively once the choice was made. "Maybe it was a little bit ruthless to do it in the way they did it," he commented. They didn't have much choice. They decided this is what they were going to do and that's it. They had to get on it and do it." He also expressed scepticism about the Englishman's return to F1, saying: "I don't know how and where, or whether he wants to do it. Because the position he really wanted at Red Bull was to own part of the team." Ecclestone has spent time in Hungary this week, attending as a special guest at an event on Thursday celebrating the 40th F1 Grand Prix at the revamped Hungaroring. Hamilton was visibly emotional after Saturday's qualifying, where he had failed to make the top 10. Following a disappointing Q2 exit, the Brit is set to start Sunday's race 12th on the grid. The racing icon was in a despondent mood when speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying and when asked what went wrong, he said: "It's just me, every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless. "The team has no problem – the other car is on pole. They probably need to change driver." The mood between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc couldn't be more opposite, given that the latter secured his first pole position of the season. Speaking after claiming pole, a smiling Leclerc said: "I don't understand anything in Formula 1. The whole qualifying was extremely difficult Q3, everything became a lot trickier, I just knew it had to be a clean lap. "I definitely did not expect that. We are on pole position, I have no words, probably one of the best I've ever had, the most unexpected for sure."
