Lewis Hamilton sets pace in first practice to aid hopes of ending podium drought

Hamilton has a remarkable record at his home race, winning a record nine times at Silverstone including victory in the rain last year.

The 40-year-old has also finished in the top three in all of his last 11 appearances here but is yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari colours.

The Scuderia delivered an improved performance in Austria last weekend, with Charles Leclerc third ahead of Hamilton in fourth.

Hamilton, whose streak of 11 races without a podium finish is the longest of his career – continued that progress by finishing 0.023 seconds ahead of compatriot Lando Norris.

Norris trails McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 15 points in the championship standings following his victory in Austria and is bidding to secure back-to-back Formula One wins for the first time.

The 25-year-old has his own grandstand at Silverstone, hosting 10,000 of his fans, and they would have enjoyed seeing a British duo at the top of the standings during Friday’s opening running.

Piastri was third fastest, 0.150sec off the pace, ahead of Leclerc in fourth.

Max Verstappen, who is now 61 points behind Piastri in the standings after his first-lap elimination in Austria, again complained about handling issues with his Red Bull.

The four-time world champion was only 10th fastest

British driver Arvid Lindblad drove the other Red Bull during first practice – becoming only the second driver under 18 to take part in a Grand Prix weekend, after Verstappen.

The 17-year-old delivered a respectable lap time to finish 13th.

George Russell, whose future has dominated talk ahead of the weekend, was fifth for Mercedes.

Second practice gets under way at 1600 BST.