FP1: Verstappen tops first Silverstone practice as Albon secures a remarkable P3

F1 Grand Prix, GP United Kingdom, Silverstone Circuit

Double world champion Max Verstappen headed his team mate Sergio Perez in the opening practice session at the British Grand Prix as Pirelli’s new tyre debuted.

When the first session kicked off in Silverstone, drivers headed out on to the 5.8km track to try out Pirelli’s 'tougher' specification of slick tyre. Drivers first complained about lack of grip before they went for the soft compound for the final phase of the session which appeared to improve the grip level.

Reigning champion Verstappen dominated the first part of the session on Pirelli’s hard compound before he lost the lead to the Ferrari drivers who bolted on the red-walled soft tyre much earlier than the Dutchman. However, Verstappen regained the lead when he also rolled out on to the Silverstone circuit on the C3 compound, working his way down to a time of 1m 28.600s on the red-marked rubber.

After shaking off his illness from last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Perez was back on form in the opening practice, ending the first 60-minute session in P2, but his own benchmark was almost half a second adrift of Verstappen’s session-topping time.

Williams driver Alexander Albon displayed eye-catching performance in Free Practice 1, setting the third quickest lap of the session ahead of Aston Martin’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who spent the first twenty minutes of the session in the garage.

Following the debut of their extensive upgrade package at the Red Bull Ring that included a new front wing and a revised floor, Charles Leclerc ended up fifth fastest while his team mate Carlos Sainz took seventh.

McLaren’s Lando Norris had a very decent weekend in Spielberg, and appears to have carried over his form to Silverstone, taking 8th with his team mate Oscar Piastri posting the 10th quickest time.

8-time British Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton took 12th after his runs on hard and medium tyres while his team mate George Russell ended up 14th fastest. Both Mercedes driver were complaining about a lack of grip at the rear of their W14, but they are expected to significantly improve their position as they are yet to use the soft compound.

Under-pressure AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries finished 11th-fastest after surviving an early trip through the gravel. His team mate Yuki Tsunoda set the 16th fastest lap time.

Valtteri Bottas put his Alfa Romeo 15th as team mate Zhou Guanyu and the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg brought up the rear.