Ferrari Sends a Warning, but Norris Reigns at Home

Lando Norris wasted no time in asserting himself in front of his home crowd. The winner in Austria began this Friday as he ended the last: on top. This time it was in the Free Practice 2 at Silverstone, with a spectacular time of 1:25.816 that no one could match. Neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton, his closest pursuers, managed to break the 1:26 barrier.

The wind, treacherous and constant, played a key role in a session marked by gusts destabilising the cars in fast zones. "The gusts are catching us by surprise," admitted James Vowles, Williams' team principal, as Carlos Sainz spun out harmlessly exiting Luffield.

Hamilton, who had led Free Practice 1 and is seeking his tenth home victory, started strong in the afternoon with a 1:27.280 on medium tyres. But traffic — including Norris and Liam Lawson — complicated the initial attempts of several drivers.

Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, complained over the radio about the wind ('gusty', he said literally) just before taking the lead in the early stages. His joy was short-lived: Hamilton and the surprising Isack Hadjar quickly surpassed him.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was struggling to find his rhythm. "Have you seen my front tyres at high speed? They're not responding," he vented over the radio. And he wasn't the only one uncomfortable: Ollie Bearman reported oversteer in his Haas.

As the minutes passed and the track improved, qualifying simulations began. Mercedes was ahead of the rest by fitting soft tyres. George Russell was the first to put them on, and his young teammate Kimi Antonelli beat him with a 1:26.383, surpassing Hamilton's best time from the morning. But then came Leclerc and Norris. The Monegasque took the lead despite protesting that something was wrong with the front left tyre ("there's a lot of time there"). It wasn't enough: Norris responded with a perfect lap and left everyone behind.

Hamilton aborted his first attempt on softs, but on the second he managed to climb to second place, before being relegated to the final third position by Leclerc. Verstappen, meanwhile, could only manage eighth in his first attempt, eight-tenths behind Norris, although he later climbed to fifth place.

Norris's time remained unbeaten. He was the only one to break the 1:26 mark, just before the teams switched to long runs with more fuel. Behind the leading trio — Norris, Leclerc, and Hamilton — Piastri was fourth, half a second slower than his teammate but ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli. Stroll, Russell, Hadjar, and Lawson completed the top 10.

Outside the top ten, Alex Albon was the best of the Williams (P11), followed by Fernando Alonso and a Gabriel Bortoleto who returned to Sauber after giving up the car to Paul Aron in the morning. Aston Martin's upgrades are yet to yield the expected results, but they haven't worsened the performance seen in previous races either. For the green cars' team, this is a very special weekend, and they cannot afford mistakes.

Carlos Sainz, sixteenth in these first official practice sessions, ended up under investigation for how he rejoined after his spin, although he was spared a penalty. Hulkenberg (P17) had to dodge him on the track. The rest were completed by Gasly, Bearman, and Colapinto, in that order. This Friday at Silverstone left many doubts — especially for Red Bull — and one certainty: Norris comes home with everything.