Hamilton tops British Grand Prix practice ahead of sprint qualifying

Lewis Hamilton put Ferrari on top in the only practice session at Silverstone, clocking 1m 29.260s to lead Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli by 0.213 seconds and Charles Leclerc in third. The result gave Hamilton the fastest start to his home British Grand Prix weekend, just hours before Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon.

The 2026 British Grand Prix is round nine of the Formula 1 season and is running as a sprint weekend, the first time Silverstone has used that format for the British race since 2021. Formula 1 scheduled Free Practice 1 for 12:30 local time on Friday, July 3, with Sprint Qualifying at 16:30 the same day, the Sprint at 12:00 on Saturday, July 4, Qualifying at 16:00, and the 52-lap Grand Prix at 15:00 on Sunday, July 5.

That structure leaves teams with only one 60-minute practice session before competitive running begins, a sharp change from a conventional Grand Prix weekend. The FIA said that shortened window gives teams just one chance to gather data before they are forced to commit to set-up choices, tyre plans and sprint strategy for the rest of the weekend.

Silverstone remains one of the fastest and most demanding tracks on the calendar, with the 5.891-kilometre circuit still punishing errors through sequences such as Maggotts, Becketts and Abbey. On a weekend where track time is at a premium, Hamilton’s lap suggested Ferrari had found speed quickly, while Antonelli’s close gap and Leclerc’s third place showed how little there was between the leading runners.

For the championship battle, the sprint format adds weight to every session in a season that is already deep into its opening phase. A strong Friday at Silverstone can shape the whole weekend because there is so little room to recover from a poor set-up call, and the compressed schedule makes points in the Sprint, and grid position for Sunday, more valuable than they would be on a standard weekend. Hamilton’s pace at home was the first clear marker of who has adapted fastest to the demands of this round nine test.