Hamilton delivers statement lap to top British Grand Prix FP1 ahead of Antonelli

Lewis Hamilton delivered a statement lap in Friday’s practice at the British Grand Prix, where the nine-time Silverstone winner beat Kimi Antonelli by two-tenths of a second.

The two were comfortably ahead of their teammates, with Charles Leclerc in third place six-tenths slower than Hamilton while George Russell, P4, was half a second behind Antonelli.

Lewis Hamilton fastest in British Grand Prix first practice

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Nine-time British Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton led out the field ahead of an intense FP1, with just one hour of practice before Sprint qualifying.

The Ferrari driver clocked the opening lap time of the session, a 1:34.6, but soon dropped down the order as the Mercedes-powered teams put in their opening gambits.

Kimi Antonelli went P1 ahead of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the latter losing his lap time for a track limit violation as he went wide at Village. George Russell entered the fray with a 1:32.5, P1.

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Isack Hadjar broke the Mercedes power stranglehold, but it looked to be short-lived as Antonelli went purple in the first two sectors before losing time in the third.

After an initial run, both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were back in the pits as Williams bolted its new front wing onto both FW48 cars.

Hadjar was P1 after the first 20 minutes, ahead of Antonelli and Russell, with the trio separated by just 0.017s.

Hitting double figures in lap count, Leclerc and Antonelli were sliding through Village while Alex Albon had a moment at Abbey.

Norris, in his green-and-white McLaren, had a moment on the kerbs as he fired up sparks, with the plank on the underside of his floor taking a hammering.

A spin for his teammate Piastri at Chapel brought out the yellow flags. “Just tyres are dead,” declared Piastri.

Verstappen was noted for a yellow flag infringement as he drove past Piastri. The FIA stewards ruled no further investigation required.

Pierre Gasly was also having issues, reporting that his Alpine was “unpredictable, I’m not liking this.”

Hamilton was quickest heading into the final 20 minutes, the Briton two-tenths up on Antonelli with Hadjar third in the Red Bull.

Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg had a moment as Lawson, about to begin a flying lap on new soft tyres, found Hulkenberg in the middle of the track.

Swapping to the soft tyres late in the session, Piastri took over a second off the time he’d set on the hard Pirellis. He was momentarily P1, before Russell and then Antonelli overhauled him. Antonelli then set a 1:29.4, almost half a second faster than Russell’s best.

Hamilton responded to Antonelli’s statement lap with one of his own, a 1:29.2 for the Ferrari driver to take P1 away from the Mercedes driver.

Leclerc improved to third place but he was six-tenths slower than Hamilton, while Russell was fourth, half a second behind his Mercedes teammate.

British Grand Prix: FP1 top ten

1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:29.260
2 Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.473
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.859
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.938
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.147
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:30.240
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:30.288
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:30.338
9 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:30.743
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:30.850

The full result from FP1 at the British Grand Prix

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