Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton set the pace during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.
Hamilton used Pirelli’s Soft tyres to post the best time in the 90-minute session, which took place in warm and sunny conditions, the weather set to remain similar through the weekend.
Hamilton, who is seeking his fifth straight Silverstone triumph, recorded a time of 1:27.487, beating Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.367s, as the manufacturer wound up with a 1-2 result.
Hamilton nonetheless complained that Silverstone was “the bumpiest track I’ve ever driven”, with the field of 20 receiving their first taste of the newly-resurfaced circuit.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel emerged as the quickest non-Mercedes driver, the World Championship leader 0.511s behind his title rival.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo had a slightly wide moment through the Luffield gravel but recovered to fourth, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen spun at Brooklands en route to fifth spot.
Max Verstappen was sixth fastest as his best time came on the Medium compound, as opposed to the Softs employed by his rivals, as his running was halted early by a suspected gearbox problem.
Austrian Grand Prix victor Verstappen parked his car along the pit straight following the loss of gears in his RB14.
Romain Grosjean continued to head the midfield group, as he had done in Austria, though ended the session in the barriers after spinning through the fast-right hander at Abbey.
Grosjean radioed Haas to inform his team that he forgot to push the button to close his DRS – with the zone extended to encompass Abbey and Farm – and he consequently spun through the gravel before hitting the wall.
The gap between the leaders and the midfield was once again starkly highlighted, with Grosjean’s best time a full second slower than Verstappen’s, and 1.8s down on Hamilton’s table-topping best.
Force India finished eighth and ninth, Sergio Perez ahead of Esteban Ocon, the pair half a second down on Grosjean, themselves split by just 0.003s.
Lance Stroll provided some encouragement for Williams as he rounded out the top 10, ahead of Sauber pair Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, who sandwiched Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
Kevin Magnussen was 14th for Haas but faces a trip to the stewards for a “potentially dangerous manoeuvre” after coming close to Fernando Alonso through the first sequence of corners.
Alonso in turn placed 15th, the lead McLaren driver, with his best lap coming during the closing moments, having earlier run wide at Chapel.
Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. sported a transmission device atop his halo, as part of a marshalling system assessment, and was 16th, with Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg two spots back.
Stoffel Vandoorne was 17th for McLaren, with Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley and Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin completing the order.
Sirotkin had an early off through Club corner, spinning into the gravel, while several drivers utilised the turn’s vast tarmac run-off to ostensibly exceed track limits through the long right-hander.
Friday’s second 90-minure practice session will begin at 14:00 local time
