Friday’s two practice sessions at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix saw a familiar orange color atop the timing sheets. After finishing second in FP1 Lando Norris topped the table in FP2, while teammate Oscar Piastri finished third in the first session and fourth in the second.
But right behind them was some red, in the form of Ferrari’s duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton, whose emotional win at Silverstone a year ago was perhaps the most memorable moment of the 2024 F1 season, topped the timing sheets in FP1 and was third in FP2. As for Leclerc while he finished fourth in the early session, he was second behind only Norris in FP2.
Both Norris and Piastri took note of Ferrari’s pace after the session.
“In general the Ferraris have been very, very quick today and they shall be tomorrow,” Norris said to the official F1 channel after the second practice session. “So I think we have a bit of work to do, to be honest.
“It looked maybe a bit ‘too good’ today. Ferrari always catch up into [FP3] like they did last weekend. So I’d say I’m pleased with today, but nothing to be too proud about just yet.”
“[Ferrari] looked good, both in the qualifying runs and the longer runs as well,” said Piastri. “So I think they’re in the fight this weekend which is interesting to see.”
Ferrari brought an upgraded floor for the SF-25 to last week’s Austrian Grand Prix, which paid immediate dividends for the team. Leclerc finished third while Hamilton finished fourth, as they pulled ahead of Mercedes by a single point in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
After the session, Leclerc identified Ferrari’s race pace as a strength heading into the weekend.
“Today went quite well, the feeling in the cockpit was good, but we still have some work to do on the car,” said Leclerc in the team’s media report.
“In our qualifying trim, we still seem to be a bit on the back foot, while we are more at ease with our race pace. I really enjoy driving on this track and I look forward to tomorrow.”
On the other side of the garage, Hamilton was rather upbeat, both with the performance and the atmosphere at Silverstone as he makes his British Grand Prix debut in Ferrari red.
“It’s been a really exciting day. Pretty incredible to be out on track at Silverstone in a Ferrari for the first time,” added Hamilton. “The car felt good in both sessions, even though I hit some traffic on my fastest lap in FP2, so there’s definitely time to find. It’s always amazing to be back here.
“This is the greatest circuit in the world and definitely my favourite. Great to see so many people already here on a Friday. The atmosphere is just incredible.”
At other races this season Ferrari started on the front, but faded as Friday gave way to the weekend. We’ll see if that trend continues, or if the Scuderia can build on today’s momentum and deliver a strong performance at the British Grand Prix.
