Lewis Hamilton tops FP1 at the British Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc

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Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet as the British Grand Prix kicked off on Friday afternoon with Free Practice 1.

With this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone being a Sprint weekend, FP1 was an important session for the drivers to get their car set-up perfect ahead of the remaining competitive sessions.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the crowd was largely cheering for the five British drivers on the grid – George Russell, Hamilton, Lando Norris, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad. 

Heading into the race weekend, the main talking point was how the new generation of F1 cars would deal with the nature of the Silverstone track, with many feeling the worst due to the amount of straights.

With just one hour to get everything spot on, the drivers took to the track early in FP1, with Hamilton first to appear.

The seven-time world champion was first to set a lap time, which was clocked at 1:34.696.

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World championship leader and Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli was on hand to send Hamilton tumbling down the timesheet as he produced a 1:32.579. The 41-year-old was quick to react with a 1:31.877.

As the session went on and the track began to ramp up, the lap times continued to improve.

With 30 minutes left of FP1, Antonelli sat top of the timing chart with a lap of 1:30.777; the young Italian was followed by Isack Hadjar, Russell, Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

At the back of the grid, it was another tough session for Aston Martin as they continue to struggle with the AMR26.

Lance Stroll was rock bottom, more than four seconds slower than Antonelli, with Fernando Alonso in 21st place. They later improved after switching onto the soft tyres.

In the closing stages, the first yellow flag of the session was briefly brought out by Oscar Piastri, who went off through Maggotts and Becketts before rejoining the track swiftly. The Australian was quick to complain about his tyres after his incident.

There was also a close shave between Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg, with the German alongside the VCARB driver after coming out of the pits.

In response, Lawson blasted on the radio: “What the f— was that? That’s crazy!”

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With 10 minutes left on the clock, the soft tyre runs began, with the big hitters producing their quickest times of the session.

Russell was the first driver of the day to go under 1:30.000, as he clocked a 1:29.938, which was beaten by Antonelli’s 1:29.473. Hamilton then went even faster with a 1:29.260.

Eventually, the chequered flag was waved, with Hamilton topping the pack ahead of Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.

All eyes will now be on Sprint qualifying, which will take place later on Friday afternoon, with Mercedes and Ferrari set to go head-to-head for pole position.