Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fastest in first practice at the 2020 British Grand Prix – a mere 0.474 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, the current Formula One leader and six-time defending world champion.
Verstappen, however, was using the soft tire while Hamilton elected to go with the medium tire for his fastest laps. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll was third, ahead of Red Bull’s Alexander Albon.
Racing Point had to substitute a driver for their number one driver, Sergio Perez, after the 30-year-old Mexican tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus and had to self-quarantine. While current Formula E title contender Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez were available as reserve drivers, Racing Point chose, instead, to go with former Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg, who finished ninth in FP1.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finished in sixth place on the medium tire, just behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as Sebastian Vettel missed most of the session after an intercooler problem had developed on his car.
