Silverstone-EL1: Bottas and Hamilton set the pace

The first English free practice session smiled on the Mercedes W08 from Valtteri Bottas et Lewis Hamilton, the two drivers from the star brand dominating their rivals by having set the two best times on soft tires.

At the start of the session, however, all eyes were turned towards Sebastian Vettel et Ferrari, set off on the track for a reconnaissance lap with the Shield cockpit protection system installed on his SF70H. After a single loop, the German driver returned to the pits, and was able to speak with Liberty Media Motor Sports Director Ross Brawn.

 Ferrari are testing a new cockpit safety shield this morning # FP1 #BritishGP  #F1 pic.twitter.com/Xni9DcppG1

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 14, 2017

In terms of performance, Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) were the pilots quickest to get into action after around twenty minutes. The Dutchman sets a first benchmark in 1’30”957.

After half an hour of driving, just after Sebastian Vettel made a mistake in the Maggotts – Becketts – Chapel sequence, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), on soft tires, dislodged Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), who had come to interfere at the top of the ranking, thanks to a lap achieved in 1'30″442. But the Finn responded straight away in 1’29”876, also on soft tyres.

The winner of the Austrian Grand Prix improved further to 1’29”651 a few minutes later, while Hamilton remained in his teammate’s wake by 146 thousandths.

Bottas wins

Already best provisional time, Valtteri Bottas will finally lower his benchmark to 1’29″106, a time faster than the pole position of 2016, achieved in 1’29”287 and thus setting a new circuit record. Lewis Hamilton finished second at 78 thousandths.

Max Verstappen takes third place by four tenths, the Red Bull driver remaining the first driver on super-soft tires. Daniel Ricciardo, who started the session with an RB13 loaded with aerodynamic sensors, ranked fourth, eight tenths behind.

Followed by the two Ferrari SF70Hs of Räikkönen and Vettel, also shod with super-soft rubber, and clocked at 1″ and 1″4. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) takes seventh position ahead of McLaren MCL32 – Honda Fernando Alonso, classified at 1″8.

Felipe Massa (Williams), despite a passage off-trajectory at the start of the session and a car slightly damaged in the maneuver, climbed to ninth position ahead of the second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne.

Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) takes 11th place ahead of the two Force Indias fromEsteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez. Romain Grosjean (Haas), who complained of a problem with the hybrid system during this hour and a half of driving, set the 14th fastest time at 2″5. The Frenchman is ahead Lance stroll (Williams) and Antonio Giovinazzi, who replaced Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas VF17.

Both Renault R.S. 17Hulkenberg and Palmer and the two Saubers of Wehrlein and Ericsson complete the ranking. The second practice session will start at 14 p.m.

Free Practice 1 Ranking