The first day of testing at Silverstone did not go well for Hamilton, who is hoping to secure his first victory of the season at home with Ferrari, while McLaren continues to look very strong, as it has done all year. Aston Martin, as previously announced, was more focused on testing new updates and comparing data with the old car, without worrying about lap times, but Stroll’s seventh place in free practice 2, just two tenths behind Piastri, gives cause for optimism. Carlos Sainz manages to tame the Williams after a poor first session.
Ferrari, the big surprise, and Norris leads the way
Ferrari has taken a step forward on the first day of testing at Silverstone. In the first free practice session of the day, Hamilton, extra motivated by racing at home, set the fastest time. In free practice 2, Leclerc beat him to second place, one ahead of the Englishman, both behind Norris, who set the fastest time, and ahead of Piastri. The change in the Italians is striking, as they have gone from having a car that only worked in slow corners to improving on a circuit as fast as Silverstone.
But if we look at the average performance, the McLaren cars were once again superior. The overall calculation of their laps is much better than Ferrari’s, achieving great times on every lap around the British circuit. Everything points to them fighting for pole position again and having no rivals tomorrow.
Aston Martin gathers data and invites optimism
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll spent most of the day in the middle of the table. The goal for the day was not to set the fastest time, but to try out as many configurations as possible to find the best setup and thus be able to configure the car to be as fast as possible on Saturday. Fernando Alonso set the eleventh fastest time in Free Practice 1, one place ahead of his teammate.
But in Free Practice 2, Stroll managed to set the seventh fastest time and the Asturian driver was twelfth. It is noteworthy that Stroll’s time was very close to Piastri’s, just two tenths of a second behind. In the race simulation, they also managed to set good lap times, especially the Canadian. Perhaps their setup is closer to what the team wants for Saturday, and watch out, the Aston Martin looks good and could confirm its step forward this Saturday.
Let’s not forget that at Imola, when the first updates were introduced, Fernando Alonso was running with the old setup and was faster than Stroll in Free Practice 1 and 2, setting only the fourteenth fastest time. In the end, it became clear that the updates weren’t working and that they had spent Friday doing the same thing they did today, gathering the best information. This Friday, the results were better than last time, so there are reasons to believe in a good result this Saturday.
Carlos Sainz continues to struggle at Williams
Carlos Sainz had a day marked by constant problems. He barely got a lap in during free practice 1, although he managed to set the thirteenth fastest time. He did not get past sixteenth in free practice 2. Williams is also debuting new flat floor designs, and it remains to be seen whether they can find the optimal setup to return to the top of the grid.
Verstappen survives and Mercedes still lacking pace
Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull was another surprise of the day, setting only the tenth fastest time in free practice 1 and managing to salvage fifth place in free practice 2 after a great lap, but his times in general are far from the best at the top, although we already know that the Dutchman always manages to get himself among the best on Saturdays.
And once again there are doubts about Mercedes. After finishing fifth in free practice 1, Russell could only manage eighth in free practice 2, alongside Stroll. Antonelli was off the pace. Despite achieving its first victory in Canada, Austria once again highlighted the team’s problems, which do not seem to have been solved, so far, at Silverstone.
But it’s an unusual Friday: not only were Aston Martin and Williams testing new parts, there are many tests and Saturday’s weather conditions will be very different from today’s, with lower temperatures. It’s anyone’s guess what we can expect for qualifying, but Aston Martin seems to have found something extra.