Hamilton leads Rosberg in practice

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) set the best time in the first practice session for the British Grand Prix by completing a lap of Silverstone in 1'31''654. The winner of the last Austrian GP was 33 thousandths ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg, both title contenders having competed in mediums.

It is Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) which was the closest to the W07 Hybrid even if the German is eight tenths behind the three-time world champion with soft tires. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) followed his compatriot a few thousandths behind, but the latter encountered mechanical problems which still seem to be linked to his gearbox at the end of the session. The four-time champion also tested a new version of the Halo.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) completes the top five, more than a second behind the benchmark, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) confirmed by his team in 2017. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) ranked seventh by being the fastest on the hard tires. Sergio Pérez (Force India) followed in eighth place ahead Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) and Fernando Alonso (McLaren).

Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) is the first driver more than two seconds behind, ahead of Jenson Button (McLaren) and the Williams de Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean (Haas) finished 15th ahead of Jolyon Palmer (Renault) and Felipe Nasr (Sauber).

Charles Leclerc (Haas), who took his first steps in F1 replacing Esteban Gutiérrez in this session, set the 18th fastest time, just over a second behind Romain Grosjean. The Monegasque was ahead Esteban Ocon (Renault), another test driver who took the place of Kevin Magnussen and who will be at inter-season testing on Tuesday July 12 and Wednesday July 13 with Mercedes.

Despite overcast weather, the session was not disrupted by the rain.

British Grand Prix practice results