Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris both 0.2 seconds behind Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari; Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fourth and fifth with Mercedes improvements that seem to make a difference; Watch Britain’s final workouts at 12:00 on Saturday, the qualifying at 15:00
For Matt Morlidge at Silverstone
Last updated: 7/1/22 6:03 PM
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Karun Chandhok of Sky F1 is on the SkyPad to analyze the fastest laps of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen during the second practice at Silverstone.
Karun Chandhok of Sky F1 is on the SkyPad to analyze the fastest laps of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen during the second practice at Silverstone.
Carlos Sainz was Ferrari’s fastest in a fiercely competitive workout for the British GP, while Lewis Hamilton’s increased his hopes at home by finishing second while Mercedes promised with his improved car.
In front of an exhausted Silverstone crowd, Lando Norris was third behind his compatriot Hamilton, with the McLaren driver surprisingly faster than title rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
“It’s very exciting,” 2009 world champion Jenson Button told Sky Sports F1. “Four different cars, four teams divided by two tenths of a second!”
Sainz overcame a dry P2 – which became even more crucial and intriguing after an initial session interrupted by rain – by 0.153 seconds despite coming out on Copse Corner.
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Martin Brundle and Jenson Button were on the side of the track to see how the riders faced tough conditions through Becketts Corner during the second practice of the British Grand Prix.
Martin Brundle and Jenson Button were on the side of the track to see how the riders faced tough conditions through Becketts Corner during the second practice of the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton had fallen to 15th at one point, but found the pace in his soft tire race to place second in a Mercedes car that has many upgrades, including a new flat as the team aspires to the his first win of the season.
Norris, who was first before Sainz and Hamilton’s fast laps, was still two-tenths of Sainz at the end of the session.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen closes at turn 3 due to strong winds at Silverstone.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen closes at turn 3 due to strong winds at Silverstone.
Verstappen, leader of the title by 46 points, and Leclerc, who has more poles this season, both have fought for the speed of a lap and finished at 0.2 and 0.4 seconds of pace respectively.
Fernando Alonso was sixth for Alpine, ahead of Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull and George Russell’s Mercedes.
Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll, whose turn at the end of P1 caused red flags, completed the top 10 to round out the opening day from the home of British motorsport.
Mercedes takes a “step forward” at Silverstone
While Red Bull and Ferrari have dominated F1 2022 and have shared nine wins so far this season, all eyes were on Mercedes heading to Silverstone as the Silver Arrows expected a combination of significant upgrades and a Silverstone track that suited them would propel them back to the front of the local Hamilton and Russell circuit.
It’s too early to say they’re looking for pole and victory, but things look a lot better for a team that has suffered violent rebounds and a lack of pace so far this season.
“It looks like we’ve taken a step forward because we’re not normally close to the summit on a Friday,” track engineering director Andrew Shovlin said.
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Lewis Hamilton has a small problem at the end of the second practice with something falling from the floor of his car on turn 9.
Lewis Hamilton has a small problem at the end of the second practice with something falling from the floor of his car on turn 9.
“Now, I hope more will come from Ferrari and a little more from Red Bull, but the long – term work was also pretty encouraging and they were overlapping pretty well.
“Sure, there’s a lot to work on, there are some bounces and it’s tricky at high speed right now, but hopefully the updates have pushed us in the right direction.”
Hamilton agreed that Mercedes had made improvements, adding, “We still have work to do. It seems like a small step forward.”
The only problem for Hamilton, whose car seemed much more stable than in the last few races, on an otherwise exciting day where he finished second in both sessions was that he lost some ground at the end of the race. P2.
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McLaren struggled in the pitlane trying to replace Lando Norris’ tires during the second training sessions at the British GP.
McLaren struggled in the pitlane trying to replace Lando Norris’ tires during the second training sessions at the British GP.
Norris ’rise to the timesheets, after finishing 15th last time in Canada, was even more amazing.
“As good as it sounds, it’s still hard to put things together and be consistent, but I’m happy,” he said afterwards.
“The car seems to be in a decent place, at least a little better than we expected.”
Mercedes is still waiting for a reaction over the weekend, especially from Red Bull, winners of the last six races.
For its part, rain is expected for Saturday, when the final training sessions are at 12 noon and the classification at 3 pm. Watch all the live action on Sky Sports F1.
British GP practice time sheet
Pilot Team Time 1) Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1: 28.942 2) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.163 3) Lando Norris McLaren +0.176 4) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.207 5) Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.462 6) Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.753 7) Sergio Pérez Red Bull +0.811 8) George Russell Mercedes +0.857 9) Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +0.960 …