British GP: Free Practice #1 - Re-Cap & Times

BRITISH GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Mercedes topped the first session of the British Grand Prix weekend, with Valtteri Bottas taking the top spot with a 1:29.106, while Lewis Hamilton finished just behind in 2nd with a 1:29.184. Hamilton is sure to be the crowd favourite this weekend, as it is his home race.

    The crowd will also be rooting for Jolyon Palmer, who is also celebrating his home race weekend. Palmer has yet to score any points this season, while team-mate, Hulkenberg, sits 12th in the driver standings with 18 points. Palmer finished the session in 18th with a 1:32.450. Hulkenberg finished one spot ahead in 17th with a 1:32.171.

    Just a single driver change in this session with Antonio Giovinazzi taking over Magnussen's Haas for the hour and a half. Giovinazzi who drove for Wehrlein in the opening two races of the season, has been granted a handful of free practice sessions with the American team. He finished in 16th ahead of both Saubers and both the Renaults, with a 1:32.031. 

    Sebastian Vettel ran the Ferrari-spec safety shield for a few laps during the earlier parts of the session and we'll probably be seeing more of it as well as  Red Bull's version as F1 pushes to raise the safety standards even further in an attempt to prevent head injuries in the sport. 

    More car issues for Romain Grosjean and Pascal Wehrlein. Grosjean reported "No power" towards the end of the session while Wehrlein was told to pit due to "Gearbox temperatures". Lance Stroll also encountered some troubles as he told his team that something had come loose in his cockpit.

    Red Bull are looking to be close contenders for a podium finish this weekend. Both drivers finished inside the top five with Verstappen in 3rd with a 1:29.604 and Ricciardo in 4th with a 1:29.942. Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five with a 1:30.137.

TIMES:

1. Valtteri Bottas - 1:29.106 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland

2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:29.184 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

3. Max Verstappen - 1:29.604 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:29.942 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia

5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:30.137 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

6. Sebastian Vettel - 1:30.517 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany

7. Daniil Kvyat - 1:30.895 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia

8. Fernando Alonso - 1:30.993 / McLaren-Honda / Spain

9. Felipe Massa - 1:30.999 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

10. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:31.041 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

11. Carlos Sainz - 1:31.200 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain

12. Esteban Ocon - 1:31.210 / Force India-Mercedes / France

13. Sergio Perez - 1:31.297 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

14. Romain Grosjean - 1:31.610 / Haas-Ferrari / France

15. Lance Stroll - 1:31.684 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada

16. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:32.031 / Haas-Ferrari / Italy*

17. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:32.171 / Renault-Renault / Germany

18. Jolyon Palmer - 1:32.450 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain

19. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:33.029 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany

20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:33.399 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

* - Notes Giovinazzi is participating in FP1 only

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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