Lewis Hamilton ignited his home British Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in Friday practice at Silverstone. The Ferrari driver clocked a 1m29.260s on soft tyres, edging out Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli by 0.213s in a tightly contested session that saw multiple lead changes.

Teams adopted varying strategies early, with hard compounds initially favored before the decisive soft tyre runs in the final ten minutes. Antonelli led much of the running and briefly held the pace advantage before Hamilton's late flyer proved unbeatable. The 49C track temperature created challenging conditions as teams managed fuel loads while searching for optimal performance.

Charles Leclerc claimed third place for Ferrari, just 0.079s behind Russell in fourth, while Oscar Piastri recovered from a mid-session spin to finish fifth. Max Verstappen ended up sixth for Red Bull, with Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten for Audi.

This opening session suggests Ferrari's pace advantage at Silverstone, a circuit known for its power sensitivity. Hamilton's performance in front of his home crowd provides early momentum in what promises to be a crucial weekend for the championship battle.