Lando Norris makes a quick start to British Grand Prix first practice

McLaren's Lando Norris kicked off his home British Grand Prix weekend in impressive fashion on Friday by setting the fastest time in the first practice session. Meanwhile, Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured the fourth spot on the timesheets.

Norris completed a lap around the Silverstone circuit in 1 minute 27.420 seconds on soft tires, outpacing Lance Stroll from Aston Martin by 0.134 seconds.

Oscar Piastri from McLaren took the third position, trailing by 0.211 seconds due to a late hydraulics problem, while Verstappen, the defending champion, was 0.309 seconds slower than Norris but was using medium tires.

Despite Verstappen holding an 81-point lead over Norris after 11 races out of 24, the two drivers are engaged in a fierce battle on the track.

Mercedes' George Russell, who won in Austria last weekend following a collision between Norris and Verstappen, finished fifth. Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin secured the sixth position on a cloudy but dry afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and record eight-time winner in Britain, ended the session in seventh place. He was followed by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, with Esteban Ocon from Alpine finishing in tenth place.

The practice session was briefly stopped when Yuki Tsunoda from Red Bull had a minor spin into the gravel.

Argentinian Franco Colapinto (Williams), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Oliver Bearman (Haas), and Jack Doohan (Alpine) participated in the initial practice session to enhance their F1 skills as young drivers.

Bearman, who was recently revealed as a Haas driver for 2025, led the F2 group by finishing 14th, followed by Doohan in 17th place, Colapinto in 18th, and Hadjar in 20th.

At the conclusion of the session, Norris had to abruptly brake to avoid colliding with Hadjar's slow-moving car.