Lando Norris set the fastest time of 1:27.420 on his second push lap with soft tyres, edging out Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll by a tenth of a second. Oscar Piastri secured third place in the second McLaren despite a late stoppage, while Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull.
Verstappen’s competitive time was just 0.3 seconds behind Norris, impressive considering he only used medium tyres. George Russell in the leading Mercedes placed fifth, also on mediums, trailing closely behind Verstappen.
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Coming off his victory in Austria, George Russell led a group of cars out onto the track as FP1 began under dry conditions, though dark clouds loomed with a 60% chance of rain in the forecast.
Oliver Bearman was among the early drivers on the track, participating in his third free practice session of the season with Haas, following the announcement that he will join the team on the grid in 2025. Bearman was joined by fellow F2 drivers Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Franco Colapinto (Williams), and Alpine junior Jack Doohan.
Russell set an initial benchmark time of 1m 28.888s. However, the session was interrupted 10 minutes in when Yuki Tsunoda beached his car in the gravel at Luffield, prompting red flags for the recovery of his vehicle.
With 44 minutes remaining, the session resumed, and drivers eagerly returned to their programs. Carlos Sainz, a central figure in driver market discussions for 2025, topped the timesheets at the halfway mark with a lap of 1m 27.925s on hard tyres.
As drizzle began to fall later in the hour, Oscar Piastri experienced a potential hydraulic problem, driving his McLaren slowly back to the pits. Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris set the fastest time with a lap of 1m 27.420s on soft tyres, edging out Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll by 0.134s. Despite his issue, Piastri managed to go third fastest.
Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull, with the Mercedes duo of Russell and Lewis Hamilton setting the fifth and seventh quickest times, respectively. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin separated them in sixth.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sainz followed in P8 and P9, respectively, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon rounding out the top 10. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg claimed P11, followed by Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber), Daniel Ricciardo (RB), Bearman, and Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber).
Alex Albon of Williams was 16th, with Doohan in 17th after issues curtailed his Alpine’s running. Colapinto took 18th, with Hadjar close behind in 19th after a near-miss with Norris’s McLaren in the final moments of the session.
Tsunoda ended the hour in 20th, unable to rejoin the session after his early spin into the gravel.
Bearman Shines Among Rookies
British teenager Oliver Bearman, who secured 14th place, emerged as the top rookie in the first practice session. Bearman finished just half a second behind his Haas teammate, Nico Hulkenberg.
Alpine’s Jack Doohan claimed 17th, Williams’ Franco Colapinto took 18th, and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar rounded out the rookies in 19th.
British GP FP1 Results
2024 British Grand Prix FP1, 5 July 2024
Source: Formula 1 and Sky Sports F1
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