Morning rain gave time advantage to afternoon racing.
SILVERSTONE, England—Carlos Sainz Jr. had bad luck in Formula One’s recent race in Canada, but his fortunes were reversed on Friday afternoon at practice for Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
The Spaniard set the fastest time of the day in his Ferrari, clocking a 1:28:942 fastest lap ahead of British home drivers Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, who took second and third, respectively.
The afternoon had clear skies and dry temperatures, which gave all the drivers a chance to test their entries, which was very different from the morning session with rain showers. Max Verstappen complained all session because his Red Bull kept touching the ground. But the Dutchman still took fourth. Charles Leclerc went out early in the afternoon, but his Ferrari couldn’t beat teammate Sainz Jr.’s top time. The Monegasque could do no better than fifth.
Fernando Alonso continued to do well finishing in sixth with his Alpine, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was a disappointing seventh. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell, was eighth. Daniel Ricciardo put another McLaren in the top ten by finishing in ninth, while Aston Martin had Lance Stroll take the final top ten position in tenth.
No major incidents occurred during the day, but the entire floorboard cracked in Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin, and the sidepod cracked in Esteban Ocon’s Alpine.
The rest of the weekend will have mixed conditions, so it will be interesting to see how things turn out.
