Hamilton starts ahead of Verstappen in the sprint experiment

The Englishman relegated Verstappen to second place in the Red Bull in the significantly improved Mercedes and repeatedly raised his fists in the air in overjoyed happiness. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas came third on the 5,891 kilometer long course. As part of a test format, Formula 1 determines the starting grid for the future pole man for Sunday in a sprint race over 100 kilometers, which corresponds to 17 laps.

The experiment had the effect of boosting the importance of the first training session. Because only in these 60 minutes did the teams have time to find the optimal setup for qualification and the rest of the weekend. “We only have one session to find the setup and then you’re stuck in it for the whole weekend,” explained Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Bottas. The two pilots therefore tried out different approaches in the simulator. New challenges “The biggest challenge of the weekend is the process,” noted McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl. The stress factor for drivers and engineers is significantly higher. Because if the coordination doesn't work in the opening training, it can no longer be made up for because of the parc fermé, i.e. the exclusion zone for readjustments. “It was stressful,” admitted Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer. Only before the second and therefore final training session on Saturday can only tinkering be carried out in moderation. “You don’t have much time to react if the car doesn’t have the balance you want,” said Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly.

In wait: Max Verstappen © APA/afp / ADRIAN DENNIS

Verstappen found himself at the front of the opening training session again, complaining about the engine performance at times. The winner of the last three races left McLaren driver Lando Norris and Hamilton behind by just under 0,8 seconds each. “Seven tenths, where do they come from?” asked Hamilton in disbelief, who has 32 points less than Verstappen in the World Cup standings.

Mercedes has made some improvements to the car. The designer and driver world champion of the past seven years wants to reduce the gap to Red Bull at all costs. “Our car is happier here,” stated Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and added: “We won’t stop fighting.” Hamilton provided the foretaste of this in qualifying.

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Hamilton starts ahead of Verstappen in the sprint experiment

In the Silverstone stress test, Lewis Hamilton left Max Verstappen behind. To the cheers of the fans in the packed stands, the world champion secured the top spot in Formula 1 qualifying and will be the first to start the new sprint race on Saturday.

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