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Verstappen fails to set time in rain at Silverstone, Bottas on P1

Verstappen fails to set time in rain at Silverstone, Bottas on P1

01-07-2022 14:01

GPblog.com

The first free practice session for the British Grand Prix was uneventful. The rain prevented much mileage on the Silverstone circuit. In the end, Valtteri Bottas in his Alfa Romeo went fastest with a 1:42.249, but that doesn't mean anything. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez did not set a time.

The whole morning is dry at Silverstone, but a few minutes before the start of VT1 it starts to rain. In a very short time, puddles have formed in some corners. In other places, however, it is as good as dry, which makes it very special conditions on the Silverstone circuit.

Charles Leclerc is the first to hit the asphalt on the intermediates. In his wake follows Sergio Perez and both Alpines a few minutes later. In the first twenty minutes we then see several drivers leave their garages, but in most cases it is only for an installation lap. Under these circumstances, the teams feel there is little to learn about the car and the updates it has brought.

Little honour to be gained

With everyone recognising the worthlessness of the situation, there is little driving and the track does not dry quickly. It may be dry, but it is too wet for slicks and too dry for intermediates. Most drivers even get out of their cars halfway through the practice session. The situation doesn't get any better in the last 25 minutes as it starts to sputter again. Hamilton takes his moment to walk from the pit lane to the pit wall and wave to his fans in the grandstands, but it doesn't seem to get any more exciting than that for a long time.

In the last seven minutes, however, Hamilton switches to softs after all. He records a purple first sector, but then loses seven seconds in sector two to the fastest time. It is proof that it is still too early for slicks. Valtteri Bottas opts for intermediates and relieves Carlos Sainz of the lead in the final minutes. Hamilton improves to P2 on softs afterwards. Lance Stroll causes a red flag in the final phase on the red compound by shooting into the gravel.

Little learned in VT1

The first free practice has for a large part fallen in the figurative water. All teams have brought a lot of updates, but they have not been able to test them. This means almost 60 minutes less preparation time for qualifying and the race than usual. The rest of Friday should remain dry though, so in VT2 hopefully more action!