Hamilton tops British GP practice at Silverstone
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 3, 2026
Hamilton Tops Practice
Lewis Hamilton topped the only practice session for the British Grand Prix on Friday at Silverstone, giving the home crowd the fastest lap on a day that put him in position to chase another milestone at the circuit. Hamilton’s best lap of 1:29.260 set the pace in bright, dry conditions and left championship leader Kimi Antonelli 0.213 seconds behind. That gap put Antonelli in second and kept the Mercedes driver close enough to stay in the fight, but Hamilton controlled the session from the front when it mattered. The result also sharpened the focus on Silverstone, where Hamilton is chasing a record-extending 10th victory after winning the British Grand Prix nine times before. Ferrari kept one car near the top too, with Charles Leclerc third in the other Ferrari, 0.599 seconds off Hamilton’s pace. George Russell followed in fourth for Mercedes, another sign that the front of the field remained tight even in a short session. Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren, Max Verstappen took sixth and Lando Norris finished seventh after running more than a second off the pace. The top 10 also included Isack Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson, which completed a session that gave teams their first look at the weekend under clear conditions. Hamilton’s lap stood out because there was no room to ease into the rhythm of the event. Silverstone’s sprint-weekend format left every team only one practice hour before sprint qualifying later on Friday, so every run carried added value and every mistake carried extra weight. Hamilton used that single hour to put himself at the top of the board and set the tone for the rest of the day.
Piastri Spins At Becketts
Oscar Piastri’s session had one sharp moment when he spun through Becketts during practice, a reminder of how little margin drivers had on a weekend that offered only one hour to sort out the cars. He still finished fifth, which kept McLaren inside the top group, but the spin marked the most visible incident in a session that otherwise unfolded in clean, dry conditions. The full order showed how crowded the upper half of the field remained. Hamilton led Antonelli and Leclerc, then Russell, Piastri, Verstappen and Norris, with Hadjar, Hülkenberg and Lawson rounding out the top 10. That mix put McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all inside the front part of the timing sheets, and it showed how quickly the drivers had to find speed before the next competitive session. Norris ended up seventh and more than a second away from Hamilton, which left him with more ground to make up than some of his rivals. Verstappen’s sixth-place run also sat outside the very front, though still close enough to leave the order open. For Hamilton, the home-track setting added a different edge. Every quick lap drew a louder response, and every run through the fast corners mattered a little more under the eyes of the Silverstone crowd. The practice hour did not settle the weekend. It did give a clear first look at the pace and the pressure, and it placed Hamilton where he wanted to be at the start.
Silverstone Sprint
Silverstone’s sprint-weekend layout made the opening session more important than usual because teams had only one practice hour before sprint qualifying later on Friday. That compressed schedule forced drivers and engineers to gather data quickly, lock in setup choices and move straight into competition with less time than a standard Grand Prix weekend allows. In those conditions, Hamilton’s fastest lap carried added value because it came in the only chance to test the cars in traffic, balance and race trim before the next session. The session also underlined how close the field looked behind him. Antonelli stayed within a few tenths, Leclerc remained in touch in third and Russell kept Mercedes near the front in fourth. Piastri’s fifth place put McLaren in the mix, even with the spin through Becketts, while Verstappen and Norris had work left to do after finishing sixth and seventh. The rest of the top 10, filled out by Hadjar, Hülkenberg and Lawson, showed that the order beyond the leading names remained unsettled. For Hamilton, the result fed directly into a weekend with a clear storyline. He arrived at Silverstone with nine British Grand Prix wins already on his record and the chance to add a 10th at a circuit where he has long been the benchmark. Friday’s practice session did not hand him anything beyond the fastest lap, but it did put him on top in front of his home fans and gave him the early advantage in a sprint weekend that leaves little time to recover from a slow start.
