Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was the fastest in a wet FP1, while Sainz overtook the FP2 in much drier weather conditions. Hamilton, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were next.
Results of the British FP1 Grand Prix: Hamilton’s fastest boots
What happened to Britain’s 1 free practice?
The rain at the start of the session soaked half of the circuit but the other side of the track remained dry, which greatly limited the route during the hour.
Sainz set the bar in 1m42.967s with intermediate tires, ahead of Bottas in 1m43.437s and teammate Leclerc in 1m43.801s.
Hamilton was the first to make slicks with just over five minutes to go, as Bottas improved to P1 in 1m42.249 in inters.
Hamilton clocked 1m42.781, the only rider to set a time with slicks, to take second place, 0.532 seconds off Bottas ’pace. Sainz and Leclerc finished third and fourth, ahead of Mick Schumacher’s Haas.
Lance Stroll ran aground his Aston Martin after turning on Copse, causing a red flag to stop the session prematurely.
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Results of the British FP2 Grand Prix: Hamilton’s fastest Sainz
What happened to the British GP 2 free practice?
In dry, sunny conditions, Verstappen set the early pace at 1m31.438s in average slicks. He was quickly overtaken by Leclerc in 1m30.786s, in the same compound, who was 0.094s faster than his teammate Sainz.
Sainz improved to 1m29.962s in a second lap of push, with Verstappen more than half a second shy. Leclerc regained the P1 with 1m29.639s, and then improved to 1m29.462s. Sainz also took second place, 0.081 seconds behind, ahead of Verstappen, who was more than four tenths of a third behind.
Then, Norris enjoyed an early glory race with soft tires in front of his local fans, setting the fastest time with 1m29.118s. Sainz had a great time in Copse, setting a new P1 time in 1m29.014s despite this, before producing a 1m28.942s in a second lap of push to extend his lead to the top.
Hamilton finished second with 1m29.105s, 0.163s below Sainz, but just ahead of Norris.
Verstappen only managed 1m29.149 per quarter, two tenths of the pace. Leclerc had a bad first soft tire race and finished fifth, more than four-tenths of his teammate’s best time.
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