Flying Hamilton fastest at Silverstone ahead of Sprint Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton was unexpectedly fastest after a blistering lap in the only practice session at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton, a nine-time winner at Silverstone, played down his chances to take the fight to Mercedes at his home track, but beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.213s with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc 0.599s back.

Antonelli is 40 points ahead of George Russell in the Drivers' Championship and 46 points in front of Hamilton, who vowed on Thursday that he "won't stop" until he wins a record-breaking eighth world title.

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"He's been on it all season. He's loving these new cars," said Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson.

"We were all a bit lost as to what happened to Lewis Hamilton from 2022 onwards basically, until now.

"He was a little a bit lost as well and doubted himself. And yes, even an accomplished athlete like Lewis Hamilton can doubt themselves. It's a very real thing and we don't blame him for that at all. But it's so good to see him back, and he's enjoying these cars."

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In more encouragement for Hamilton, he was also quickest on the hard tyre runs so appears to genuinely be in with a chance of making inroads into Antonelli's championship lead - with points also on offer for Saturday afternoon's Sprint at Silverstone.

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Hamilton always brings his best level to Silverstone, pointing to the energy of the home crowd and the enjoyment he gets around the high-speed track which the drivers adore, as reasons for his extraordinary record at the British Grand Prix.

His advantage over Leclerc in practice also a continuation of Hamilton being the happier of the two Ferrari drivers in recent races.

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Russell was 0.678s behind his former team-mate, while McLaren and Red Bull have work to do ahead to get into the fight at the front.

Oscar Piastri had a high-speed spin at Becketts before finishing nine tenths off the pace in fifth, with Max Verstappen nearly one second down in sixth.

Last year's British Grand Prix winner Lando Norris was seventh, while Isack Hadjar looked strong on the hard tyres but could not convert that into fast soft-tyre pace, as he finished eighth.

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It looked to be another close fight between Audi, Racing Bulls and Alpine for the final points-paying positions at Silverstone.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg was ninth and one tenth ahead of Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson in 10th, with Alpine's Franco Colapinto close behind in 11th.

British GP Practice Timesheet

Driver

Team

Time

1) Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:29.260

2) Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

+0.213

3) Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

+0.599

4) George Russell

Mercedes

+0.678

5) Oscar Piastri

McLaren

+0.887

6) Max Verstappen

Red Bull

+0.980

7) Lando Norris

McLaren

+1.028

8) Isack Hadjar

Red Bull

+1.078

9) Nico Hulkenberg

Audi

+1.483

10) Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

+1.590

11) Franco Colapinto

Alpine

+1.706

12) Gabriel Bortoleto

Audi

+1.775

13) Arvid Lindblad

Racing Bulls

+2.079

14) Oliver Bearman

Haas

+2.113

15) Carlos Sainz

Williams

+2.424

16) Esteban Ocon

Haas

+2.424

17) Alex Albon

Williams

+2.437

18) Valtteri Bottas

Cadillac

+2.890

19) Sergio Perez

Cadillac

+2.981

20) Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

+3.697

21) Pierre Gasly

Alpine

+3.759

22) Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

+3.870

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Sky Sports F1's British GP schedule

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Friday July 3

1.55pm: F3 Qualifying*

2.50pm: F2 Qualifying*

3.35pm: British GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 4.30pm)*

5.55pm: F1 Academy Qualifying

Saturday July 4

9.30am: F3 Sprint*

11am: British GP Sprint build-up*

12pm: BRITISH GP SPRINT*

1.40pm: F2 Sprint*

2.50pm: British GP Qualifying build-up*

4pm: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*

6pm: F1 Academy Race 1

6.45pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday July 5

8.20am: F3 Feature Race*

9.55am: F1 Academy Race 2*

11.10am: F2 Feature Race*

12.55pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*

3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*

5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction

6pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Silverstone for a Sprint weekend at the British Grand Prix - live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky One - with Sunday's race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime