2024 F1 Round 12, British GP FP1: Norris fastest in 1m27.420s, Stroll second as Tsunoda goes off and finishes last after only five laps

Round 12 of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the British Grand Prix, got under way at Silverstone on the evening of 5 July China time (UTC+8). In Friday’s first free practice session, home driver Lando Norris topped the timesheet for McLaren with a 1m27.420s lap. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri were second and third. RB’s Yuki Tsunoda went off early and brought out the red flags, ultimately finishing last after completing only five laps.

With an air temperature of 17°C and a track temperature of 27°C, Silverstone felt rather cooler and gloomier than the previous few venues. Shortly after Russell, the winner of the previous round in Austria, had set the early pace on hard tyres, the session was interrupted just nine minutes in. Tsunoda lost the rear on the approach to Turn 7, ran off and became stuck in the gravel, prompting a red flag of about five minutes. RB had planned to test a “mixed package” that weekend, and Tsunoda’s early exit left the team relying on Ricciardo alone to complete its programme. He finished practice in 13th.

Norris also had a brief off at Turn 5 early in the session, but still set a benchmark 1.18s quicker than the best time in the same practice session the previous year. Stroll was second, 0.134s behind, with Piastri third, 0.211s back. Piastri, however, appeared to suffer a hydraulic problem towards the end and only just managed to bring the car slowly back to the pit lane. Verstappen, Russell, Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz and Ocon filled fourth to 10th.

Four young drivers stood in for regulars during this session. Bearman, already announced as a Haas driver for the following year, replaced Magnussen in the VF-24 and finished 14th, 0.454s behind team-mate Hulkenberg. Alpine’s Doohan was 17th, 0.761s behind team-mate Ocon. Colapinto, making his first appearance in a Grand Prix weekend practice session, replaced Sargeant and was 18th, 0.429s behind Albon. Hadjar, taking Perez’s place in the Red Bull RB20, was 19th, 1.541s behind Verstappen.

Light drizzle began to fall over parts of the circuit in the second half of the session, but wet-weather tyres were never needed. Second free practice was scheduled for 23:00 China time (UTC+8) that evening.