FP1 at the 2026 F1 British GP got underway at a sun-drenched Silverstone on Friday morning, with the packed grandstands already creating an electric atmosphere ahead of Round 9 of the season. With Sprint Qualifying to follow in the afternoon, this 45-minute session was the only opportunity for every team to calibrate their car before the competitive action began.
Heading into the weekend, Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship by 40 points over George Russell, who moved up to second in Austria.
Early running during FP1 at the 2026 British GP
The entire field headed out on the hard compound to open the session. Verstappen was one of the last to join the action, heading out several minutes after the rest of the field. He also picked up a noted yellow flag infringement early in the session, though no further action followed.
Hadjar set the early benchmark and looked strong on the hard tyre. Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Piastri, and Verstappen all moved through the order as lap times fell. A tailwind through the braking zones at Turn 3 caught several drivers out, making it harder to stop the car and contributing to a number of moments across the midfield.
Norris struggled throughout the early running, with several lap times deleted for exceeding track limits.
Piastri spins and Hülkenberg blocks Lawson
Oscar Piastri had the biggest moment of FP1 at the 2026 F1 British GP. The McLaren driver ran too far onto the kerb at the high-speed Becketts complex, lost the rear of his car, and slid backwards into the run-off area. He stopped short of the barriers and confirmed he was unharmed, though his tyres were finished.
Hülkenberg and Lawson had a sharp exchange after Hülkenberg emerged from the pits directly into the path of Lawson’s push lap. Lawson was then forced to abandon his attempt and was far from pleased over the radio.
Hamilton tops FP1 at the 2026 F1 British GP
As the session progressed, teams switched to the soft compound. Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Hadjar, Antonelli, and the Williams drivers all headed out for representative runs. Lawson and Lindblad opted for the medium compound instead, with Racing Bulls using the opportunity to gather data ahead of Sprint Qualifying.
Piastri went top initially on the soft, before Russell improved by two tenths. Antonelli then responded with a dominant effort, going purple in two sectors to post a 1:29.473 and move nearly half a second clear of Russell. Hamilton followed with a lap that went fastest in the final sector and edged Antonelli out of top spot.
At the flag, Lewis Hamilton led the 2026 F1 British GP FP1 timesheets for Ferrari with a 1:29.260, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in second and Charles Leclerc in third.
George Russell slotted into fourth, just 0.678s off the pace, with Oscar Piastri fifth ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Isack Hadjar took eighth, while Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson completed the top ten.
