2026 British GP FP1: Hamilton leads the way

Lewis Hamilton made the perfect start to his home weekend by setting the fastest time in the British Grand Prix’s only practice session, leading Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc as Formula 1 returned to Silverstone for the ninth round of the 2026 F1 World Championship.

Fresh from his memorable victory in Barcelona earlier this season, Hamilton immediately looked at home around the circuit where he has rewritten the record books throughout his career. His best lap of 1m 29.260s proved more than two tenths quicker than championship leader Antonelli, while Leclerc ensured Ferrari finished the hour with both cars inside the top three ahead of Sprint Qualifying later on Friday.

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With the Sprint format allowing just a single 60-minute practice session before the competitive action begins, there was little time for teams to experiment. As the pit lane opened at 12:30 local time, almost the entire field queued at the exit, eager to maximise every minute of valuable running before parc fermé conditions take effect.

2026 British Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 British Grand Prix FP1, 3 July 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:29.260	32
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.213s	29
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.599s	31
4	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.678s	31
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.887s	25
6	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.980s	27
7	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.028s	27
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+1.078s	28
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.483s	29
10	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.590s	28
11	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.706s	28
12	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.775s	28
13	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+2.079s	32
14	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.113s	27
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.424s	33
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+2.424s	27
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.437s	30
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+2.890s	22
19	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.981s	23
20	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+3.697s	25
21	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+3.759s	25
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.870s	26

Hamilton was first to head onto the circuit and immediately became the benchmark for the rest of the field. Running on the hard compound tyres, the Briton opened proceedings with a lap of 1m 34.696s before last year’s podium finisher Nico Hulkenberg briefly moved to the top of the order.

The opening minutes quickly developed into the familiar Sprint weekend scramble, with lap times tumbling almost every time a driver crossed the finish line. Mercedes again looked immediately competitive as George Russell edged team-mate Antonelli to take provisional top spot, reinforcing the pace the Brackley squad showed during last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Ferrari soon responded. Hamilton found significant time on his next attempt to move over six tenths clear of Russell before Oscar Piastri vaulted into first place for McLaren. The Australian’s car carried a special one-off livery inspired by the machine Bruce McLaren first raced in 1966, providing one of the visual highlights of the session.

Red Bull also entered the fight near the front, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar trading fastest laps as the circuit continued to evolve. The improved grip suggested the Milton Keynes outfit had carried encouraging momentum from Austria into Silverstone.

Not everyone enjoyed a straightforward start. Defending British Grand Prix winner Lando Norris struggled to piece together a clean lap in the early stages, first having one time deleted for exceeding track limits before abandoning his next flying effort altogether and returning to the McLaren garage while running eighth.

Antonelli also encountered early frustrations, reporting concerns over energy deployment on his Mercedes. However, the championship leader quickly recovered once the issue was addressed, producing a lap of 1m 30.777s to move fastest, 0.192s ahead of Racing Bulls driver Hadjar.

As the session entered its second half, strategies began to diverge. Fernando Alonso became the first driver to complete a qualifying-style run on the soft tyres, climbing to 18th while much of the field remained committed to longer runs on the harder compounds.

Piastri then produced one of the biggest moments of the hour after losing the rear of his McLaren through the high-speed Becketts complex. The Australian spun harmlessly into the expansive run-off area, narrowly avoiding contact with the barriers before informing his engineer over team radio that his “tyres are dead.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, continued to build confidence around his favourite circuit. The Ferrari driver reclaimed first place with a lap of 1m 30.521s, moving 0.256s clear of Antonelli and underlining his comfort around Silverstone’s fast-flowing layout.

The decisive runs came during the final 12 minutes as teams switched to the medium and soft compound tyres in preparation for Sprint Qualifying. While many drivers found significant improvements, nobody could dislodge Hamilton from the top of the timesheets.

His session-leading 1m 29.260s secured first place ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc completing a strong afternoon for Ferrari in third. Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, while Piastri rounded out the top five despite his earlier spin.

Verstappen narrowly missed the top five in sixth, ahead of Norris and Hadjar. Hulkenberg delivered another impressive performance for Kick Sauber to finish ninth, while Liam Lawson completed the top ten.

Further back, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto edged Gabriel Bortoleto, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, Haas driver Ollie Bearman and Williams’ Carlos Sainz. Esteban Ocon placed the second Haas in 16th, followed by Alex Albon, the Cadillac duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll.

With practice complete, attention now immediately turns to Sprint Qualifying, where teams will have no further opportunity to fine-tune their cars before fighting for grid positions ahead of Saturday’s Sprint race.