Max Verstappen completed fastest in the very first practice session of the 2020 British Grand Prix for Red Bull, as Nico Hulkenberg– stepping in to change Sergio Perez at Racing Point for this race– made his first look in an F1 session given that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.
The lack of Sergio Perez– due to a positive Covid-19 test– was the big news ahead of this race, before ex-Renault and Force India racer Hulkenberg was contacted at the last minute to change him. When the session started and completed ninth fastest on his return, the German was one of the very first motorists out of the garage.
LEARNT MORE: How Hulkenbergs emergency Racing Point deal happened – and why hes the best man for the task
Session leader Verstappen wore soft tyres to show blistering pace for Red Bull, setting a time 0.474 s quicker than Lewis Hamilton and another tenth ahead of Racing Points third-place Lance Stroll with around 30 minutes of the 90-minute session staying. Verstappens time of 1m27.422 s was a full seven-tenths quicker than his group mates, as Alex Albon ended up 4th.
Hamilton had a brand-new MGU-K fitted to his W11 this weekend in a precautionary relocation by Mercedes, however he will not take a grid charge as he is still within his allowance for the season. The 2019 race winners fastest FP1 time was set on mediums, while third-place Stroll handled to end up 0.582 s off the speed, on softs for Racing Points.
1
Max
Verstappen
VER
Red Bull Racing
1:27.422
2
Lewis
Hamilton
HAM
Mercedes
+0.474 s.
3.
+0.582 s.
Lance.
Stroll.
STR.
Racing Point.
4.
+0.707 s.
Alexander.
Albon.
ALB.
Red Bull Racing.
5.
Rounding out the top-10 was AlphaTauris Daniil Kvyat who was a whisker faster than 11th-place team mate Pierre Gasly. McLaren had Carlos Sainz 11th ahead of Lando Norris in P12. Team Principal Andreas Seidl said that the group had actually brought floor and front-wing updates and were running an “extensive” programme in FP1 to make certain the parts were working as prepared.
As for Williams, George Russell ended up 17th as he went back to Silverstone for his second home Grand Prix, and rookie Nicholas Latifi ended up 19th in front of garage-bound Vettel.
+0.799 s.
The Renault duo finished behind Bottas with Esteban Ocon seventh, simply under 0.020 s faster than eighth-place Daniel Ricciardo.
FP1 Highlights: 2020 British Grand Prix.
VIEW: Nico Hulkenberg back on track in F1 after last-minute call to replace Perez.
Alfa Romeos duo had an eventful session, with Kimi Raikkonen, P18, going off at Luffield (Turn 7) minutes prior to Antonio Giovinazzi, P17, stunningly spun at Chapel (Turn 13) and after that rejoined the track with a shower of rubber, gravel and carbon fiber tracking his C39.
That brought out a 12-minute red-flag with simply over an hour remaining and the Italian has actually been summoned by the stewards, who were not impressed by his efforts to nurse the automobile gradually back to the pits after the incident.
Fantastic Britain 2020: Raikkonen and Giovinazzi spin.
Valtteri Bottas was the very first driver over a 2nd off Verstappens place as he concentrated on long runs on the hard substance tires for Mercedes.
Hulkenberg, running in an FP1 session for the very first time given that last year, was just 0.6 s behind his group mate Stroll. He spent 45 minutes in Racing Points simulator on Friday morning, before delving into the automobile for FP1, having evaluated unfavorable for coronavirus prior to going into the paddock.
Charles.
Leclerc.
LEC.
Ferrari.
READ MORE: Bottas wishing for hassle-free British GP weekend as he validates sustaining mistake in Hungary.
Ferraris Sebastian Vettel was stuck in the garage for FP1 with an intercooler issue in his SF1000 cars and truck and completed no timed laps, however hell be running in FP2 according to the team. As an outcome, he propped up the standings while group mate Charles Leclerc rounded out the top-five with a 0.799 s deficit to Verstappen.
