British GP: Mercedes set record pace as the 'Shield' debuts in FP1

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Mercedes quickly inserted themselves as the team to beat at the British Grand Prix as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton both broke the lap record in Practice 1 at Silverstone.

The Finn topped the times with a 1:29.106s, seven-hundredths clear of his team-mate as the Silver Arrows held a half second advantage over the rest of the field and on the harder soft tyre.

It was Red Bull who would emerge as the nearest challengers as Max Verstappen, who missed his pit box early on, claimed third with Daniel Ricciardo in fourth on the super-soft rubber.

Ferrari, however, was focussed on other things as both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel tested an upgraded engine and the German also gave Formula 1 its first look at the new 'Shield' cockpit protection.

Though it would only be run for one lap, there were some immediate concerns raised with reflections, even on an overcast morning, appearing an issue as well as the speed of exit from the cockpit at least in the garage.

Vettel would also be responsible for the only significant off-track moment once the canopy had been removed, losing the rear of his car entering the Becketts section potentially due to the wind that typically always blows at the former airfield circuit.

Toro Rosso was back to normal after a strange incident on Carlos Sainz's side of the garage on Thursday but on the other side, it was Daniil Kvyat who moved up to seventh with a super-soft tyre run in the final 10 minutes of the session.

The Russian was a tenth clear of Fernando Alonso as McLaren enjoyed a strong start to the weekend with the Spaniard eighth and Stoffel Vandoorne 10th. Unfortunately, a grid penalty will likely spoil Alonso's race but the Belgian's pace offered some hope.

Between them was Felipe Massa in the Williams with the Brazilian requiring a bit of a clean up at Copse after losing an aerodynamic winglet on a new aggressive outer kerb at the high-speed and potentially flat-out Copse corner this year.

Sainz was 11th in the second Toro Rosso with the two Force Indias within a tenth of a second as Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez both gave a major aero upgrade its first run out on the track.

Romain Grosjean was 14th with Ferrari third driver Antonio Giovinazzi four tenths behind in 16th, as the Italian took part in the first of seven planned FP1 outings with Haas between now and the end of the season.

Lance Stroll damaged his floor on the same kerb as team-mate Massa lost the winglet causing a brief stint in the garage to fit a replacement trial design as the Canadian conducted aero tests and was only 15th.

Renault had a disappointing morning with Nico Hulkenberg down in 17th just a place ahead of Jolyon Palmer, who's home weekend was interrupted by mechanical issues in the opening session.

Bringing up the field was Sauber, with Pascal Wehrlein half a second behind the Briton in 19th but almost four tenths clear of his team-mate Marcus Ericsson as the Swiss team's problems continue.

 

         

 

 

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