FP1: Familiar Friday feeling for Max

New York Times

21 hours ago

Catch up on Friday's free practice as Silverstone hosts Round 12 of the 2025 Formula One world championship Getty Images
Silverstone hosts Round 12 of the 2025 Formula One world championship this weekend, with the iconic British Grand Prix.
Lando Norris closed the gap on his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the drivers' championship standings, with a supreme win in Austria last weekend.
And the Brit was fastest after today's free practice sessions in front of his home fans at Silverstone, clocking a 1:25.816 in FP2 from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Another home driver, Lewis Hamilton, had been quickest earlier in the day as he led FP1 for Ferrari with a 1:26.892.
As for the narratives off the track, there continues to be talk over the future of Red Bull's four-time defending champion Max Verstappen, with links to a winter move to Mercedes refusing to go away.
You can catch up on all the action and reaction below. Next: FP3 and qualifying tomorrow, ahead of Sunday's race (10am ET).
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Silverstone track breakdown: The British GP makes F1 drivers feel like jet pilots Getty Images
⏰ 24:47 Don't read that early order as Max Verstappen being happy with his Red Bull's handling so far around Silverstone.
It wouldn't be FP1 without the four-time defending champion complaining about the feeling of his RB21 — and he has done just that on the team radio to his engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, who is back after missing Austria due to personal reasons.
The good news for Verstappen and Red Bull is that whatever the problems on a Friday, Saturday usually comes together pretty well. At least for his side of the garage. Getty Images
⏰ 29:08 Just like that, we're halfway through this FP1 hour.
You can't read too much into the timings of course, but so far we have Isack Hadjar on top in his Racing Bull with a 1:27.502.
It is then Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri in the order. Luke Smith
⏰ 30:20 Lewis Hamilton on his way into the pits. He spoke yesterday about being excited to see the fan reaction now he's in red, not the silver of Mercedes.
A real mix of shirts in the grandstand from what I can see!
⏰ 35:11 Another car runs wide at Copse. This time it's Carlos Sainz, who drifts wide onto the run-off area but at least avoids a spin and too much damage to his Williams — other than to his floor, although he has gone straight into the pits for the mechanics to have a look.
The wind seems to be causing cars an issue at that part of the track today it seems.
⏰ 36:45 Woah! A very close moment just in front of me…
Gabriel Bortoleto was going a bit slower than Lando Norris expected, and the McLaren had to put a wheel on the grass to avoid contact at pit entry.
Oops!
I'm stood by the pit entry and already the drivers are practicing getting hard on the anchors as late as possible before the speed limit kicks in.
Because they effectively skip the final three corners when pitting, the speed limit is reduced to 80 km/h for Silverstone, to stop it becoming a short cut going through the pits. Getty Images
⏰ 40:05 A note from Red Bull, that its upgraded floor is only being run by Max Verstappen this weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda is also running an upgraded Red Bull compared to Austria — but his is simply the previously improved design that Verstappen had to himself around Spielberg.
And that, my friends, is a little insight into how things work at Red Bull Racing.
⏰ 45:12 Big spin for Pierre Gasly at Copse, which is about as quick as it gets here at Silverstone.
He loses traction on the paint and swipes his Alpine round 360 degrees.
The only sign it happened is the tire smoke and flat spotted rubber.
No damage done.
The Lando Norris grandstand is already a big swathe of the trademark fluorescent yellow.
Silverstone sold that 10,000-strong stand all out incredibly quickly, and then a further 1,000 within a day!
Huge support for the best chance of a home win here. Getty Images
⏰ 52:41 Liam Lawson on the Racing Bulls team radio:
💬 'The guy needs to check his mirrors.'
The guy being Arvind Lindblad, who is the young driver in Yuki Tsunoda's Red Bull for FP1.
The other young driver getting an FP1 session here is Paul Aron, who is in Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber for this first hour of free practice. Getty Images
⏰ 54:04 I've come down to the final chicane, and there are huge cheers for Lewis Hamilton as he goes to start his first lap.
This is the first chance the British fans have got to see him in a Ferrari since his winter move.
⏰ 56:40 Do you know what I like to see? That's right. All 20 cars in a hurry to get out on track at the start of a session.
Three minutes in, and that's exactly what we've got here at Silverstone in FP1.
Lovely.
⏰ 60:00 And here is that green light. We are up and running at Silverstone with FP1!
Shall we have ourselves a first hour of free practice at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix?
LET'S GO!
Green light soon… Patrick Iversen
I've returned from a wander down the pit lane a bit ago. It's starting to warm as the morning clouds make way for FP1.
I've been told not to count on that forever, though. English weather! Getty Images
Secondly, this is how it looked at Max Verstappen's Red Bull media session yesterday. I wonder what they asked him?
I jest. They asked him repeatedly about the speculation linking him with a winter switch to Mercedes — and he repeatedly declined to add anything of note in his answers.
As you were for him, Red Bull and the news agenda...
While today is the start of the track action, Thursdays are busy at these race weekends too — primarily because they are media day.
Cue a couple of things I wanted to highlight from yesterday.
One: How good are some of these arrival fits? And yes — this comment is almost exclusively directed at Lewis Hamilton…
We are about 20 minutes from seeing the 2025 F1 cars hit Silverstone for the first time this weekend.
You'll hear plenty from our correspondents and editors, both trackside and following all the action from further afield — and we very much want to hear from you too.
Whether it's a question you've always wanted answering about F1, your tips for pole position tomorrow, where Max Verstappen should be driving in 2026 or who you fancy to walk away with the silverware at the end of this season…
Get in touch — the inbox is always open. Just send your thoughts to: [e-mail]
I cannot wait to read and share your thoughts.
The Aston Martin drivers will be driving different specifications in first practice today, as it 'will allow us to make comparisons between the different parts,' the team has said.
Lance Stroll is running the previous specification, while Fernando Alonso has the updated one.