FP1: Bottas tops wet opening practice in Silverstone

F1 Grand Prix, GP United Kingdom, Silverstone Circuit

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas topped the opening F1 practice session for the British Grand Prix as heavy rain hit Silverstone. Eight-time British GP winner Lewis Hamilton finished second, beating the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

There was great anticipation ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend with Formula One staging a pre-event show that saw the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen appear in front of a fully-packed grandstand on Thursday.

A huge crowd is expected to attend this year’s British Grand Prix, and many spectators have already visited the opening day of the weekend. However, the rain that hit Silverstone just at the start of the session disrupted the action, and meant that only ten drivers posted lap times.

The Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz set the pace early on intermediate tyres. Conditions started to improve later on and there was a point of the session when nobody dared to head out on to the track as the majority of the circuit was dry, but some corners in Sector 2 was wet, making it impossible to find a tyre that could have suited the conditions.

In the end, it was Bottas who ended up quickest, posting a 1m42.249s on intermediate tyres in his Alfa Romeo in the closing minutes of the session. Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to gamble on slicks and managed to go second quickest behind his former team mate.

Sainz and Leclerc ended up third and fourth quickest. Many drivers put on the red-walled slick tyres at the end of the session, but the late fireworks did not materialize as the session ended prematurely because of a mistake from Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver caused a late red flag when he beached his Aston Martin the gravel following a spin at Copse.