Practice report
Formula 1 British GP
F1 British GP: Lewis Hamilton leads Kimi Antonelli in sole Silverstone practice
The seven-time world champion went fastest late on at Silverstone, beating the championship leader by two tenths ahead of sprint qualifying
Edited: Jul 3, 2026, 12:58 PM
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton made a brilliant start to his British Grand Prix weekend as the seven-time Formula 1 world champion went fastest in practice.
The Ferrari driver set a 1m29.260s on the soft tyre, 0.213s quicker than his Mercedes successor and championship leader Kimi Antonelli - who had led much of the running.
There was action from the start as it was the only practice session of this sprint weekend, as teams rushed out of the pitlane with hards being the compound of choice early on.
It led to the lead changing hands multiple times as drivers continuously racked up the lap counts with fuel loads decreasing and the hot 49C Silverstone track evolving.
Come the halfway mark, Antonelli had the pace with a 1m30.777s, just 0.192s quicker than Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and 0.209s faster than team-mate and title rival George Russell.
If the contentious ADUO [Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities] results are anything to go by then Red Bull and Mercedes occupying the top three times was to be expected, as the Northamptonshire track is incredibly sensitive on power.
That was a huge talking point on Thursday, and with those times being four seconds off Hamilton’s FP1 benchmark from 2025, it showed how much top speed was sacrificed to reduce superclipping.
But it was still early and the Ferrari driver did sneak in a 1m30.521s on the hard tyre, 0.256s quicker than Antonelli, just as Oscar Piastri had a spin between Becketts and Chapel with 25 minutes remaining.
Oscar Piastri spun his McLaren in the session
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
The real action came when teams performed their soft tyre runs across the final 10 minutes though, which saw the Mercedes pair become the first to break the 1m30s barrier.
It was led by Antonelli on 1m29.473s, a whopping 0.465s quicker than Russell who had Charles Leclerc just a tenth behind. However, his Ferrari team-mate Hamilton went quickest with six minutes left.
The seven-time world champion set a 1m29.260s in front of his home crowd and that lap time subsequently went unchallenged, as Antonelli spent the remaining minutes in his garage.
Leclerc did the opposite, however, as the Monegasque snatched third late on with a 1m29.859s that put him just less than a tenth ahead of fourth-placed Russell on a 1m29.938s.
Piastri rounded out the top five with a 1m30.147s, a tenth quicker than sixth-placed Max Verstappen for Red Bull. The McLaren driver’s team-mate Lando Norris took seventh.
The reigning world champion set a 1m30.288s, 0.050s quicker than eighth-placed Hadjar, while best of the rest went to Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg who is still looking for his first point of 2026.
Hulkenberg set a 1m30.743s, his fastest time coming on the medium tyre, putting him ahead of Racing Bulls man Liam Lawson, who completed the top 10 on a 1m30.850s, also on mediums.
Photos from British GP - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
British Grand Prix - Friday
Formula 1
51
F1 British GP: FP1 results
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
Ferrari Ferrari 32
1'29.260
S 237.593 2
A. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 
Mercedes Mercedes 29
+0.213
1'29.473
0.213 S 237.027 3 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 31
+0.599
1'29.859
0.386 S 236.009 4 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 31
+0.678
1'29.938
0.079 S 235.802 5 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 25
+0.887
1'30.147
0.209 S 235.255 6 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull 27
+0.980
1'30.240
0.093 S 235.013 7 L. Norris McLaren 1
McLaren Mercedes 27
+1.028
1'30.288
0.048 S 234.888 8 I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing 6
Red Bull Red Bull 28
+1.078
1'30.338
0.050 S 234.758 9 N. Hulkenberg Audi 27
Audi Audi 29
+1.483
1'30.743
0.405 M 233.710 10 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Red Bull 28
+1.590
1'30.850
0.107 M 233.435 11 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Mercedes 28
+1.706
1'30.966
0.116 M 233.137 12 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi 28
+1.775
1'31.035
0.069 M 232.960 13 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull 32
+2.079
1'31.339
0.304 M 232.185 14 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 27
+2.113
1'31.373
0.034 S 232.099 15 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes 33
+2.424
1'31.684
0.311 S 231.311 16 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari 27
+2.424
1'31.684
0.000 S 231.311 17 A. Albon Williams 23
Williams Mercedes 30
+2.437
1'31.697
0.013 S 231.279 18 V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team 77
Cadillac Ferrari 22
+2.890
1'32.150
0.453 M 230.142 19 S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team 11
Cadillac Ferrari 23
+2.981
1'32.241
0.091 M 229.915 20 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Honda 25
+3.697
1'32.957
0.716 M 228.144 21 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes 25
+3.759
1'33.019
0.062 M 227.992 22 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Honda 26
+3.870
1'33.130
0.111 M 227.720 View full results
Read Also:
Formula 1How building harmony at Ferrari has raised the prospect of a 10th home victory for Lewis Hamilton
Formula 1"I believe I can beat any driver" – Lando Norris would welcome Max Verstappen as McLaren team-mate
Formula 1How F1 teams prepare for the British GP at Silverstone
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