Lewis Hamilton topped the practice timesheets at the British Grand Prix on Friday ahead of the sprint qualifying session. The seven-time world champion finished 0.213 seconds ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Charles Leclerc placed his Ferrari ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell.
Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren, secured the fifth-fastest time despite a mid-session spin at Becketts that left him nearly nine-tenths of a second off the lead. Max Verstappen of Red Bull struggled with tire grip, ending the session in sixth place, followed by Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar. Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.
The session occurred under sunny conditions with temperatures reaching 23C, as Silverstone prepares for a record-breaking crowd of 500,000 spectators. Hamilton, who holds the record with nine wins at this venue, outperformed his own expectations after predicting the track layout might disadvantage his Ferrari.
