Lando Norris is ready to create his own history after going toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton in a gripping Battle of the Britons at Silverstone on Sunday.

As Max Verstappen raced to a sixth consecutive victory – his eighth from the opening 10 rounds so far to extend his championship lead to a distant 99 points – Norris held off Hamilton to land his first British Grand Prix podium.

A snoozy spectacle in front of a record-breaking 150,000 spectators sprung into life on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt.

Out came the safety car and Hamilton landed an effective free pit stop – bolting on a set of the speediest soft tyres – to move up from a net seventh to third.

Norris was one place up the road in his revamped McLaren. But the 23-year-old was left exposed after his team elected to fit the more durable, but slower, hard rubber on his machine.

As the safety car peeled in at the end of the 38th lap, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly filled with Hamilton’s all-black Mercedes. Norris had 13 laps to keep the seven-time world champion, 38, behind.

The Wellington Straight presented Hamilton with his first opportunity, but Norris jinked to his left in an attempt to break the slipstream.

Hamilton eyed a peak around the outside of Norris’s papaya McLaren at Brooklands, Luffield and into Woodcote but Norris held firm.

Hamilton then moved into Norris’ tow on the run to Copse, but Norris placed his McLaren in the centre of the track to retain the place.

The next lap, Hamilton tried again, this time on Norris’ inside at Luffield and Woodcote and then wheel-to-wheel at 180mph into Copse before he was forced to yield.

That was as close as Hamilton would get with Norris landing his seventh career podium, his maiden on home soil, and first of a troubled season for the talented Glastonbury man.

“This the best podium of my career,” said Norris. “I had never been to a race in Formula One until 2017.

“Until then I had only ever watched it on TV and that started in 2007 and 2008 and seeing Lewis and Fernando (Alonso) at McLaren. Now it is my turn.

“I was seven years old then. Little did I know Lewis would still be here 15 years later, and still going strong. Fair play to him.

“It is an honour to be able to race him, and go up against these guys, who have created history, and have been some of the best that Formula One has ever seen.

“It is special, an honour, and a privilege, and I want to be someone who can join in on those battles and create some of my own history.”

As Verstappen continues to rack up the wins – indeed Sunday’s triumph was the 17th from his last 21 outings – Norris stole the show.

The Monaco-based driver led for the first four-and-a-half laps after he blasted past Verstappen ahead of the opening corner before his late tussle with Hamilton.

Verstappen’s first British Grand Prix win arrives two years after he ended up in the barriers, and then concussed in hospital, following a 180mph collision with Hamilton.

Speaking about Norris, Hamilton said: “Lando is very talented and it is great when you can have close battles like that, and rely on the driver to be hard but fair.

“There was never a moment when we thought we would come together and that is what motor racing is all about – he wanted to hold on to second and I wanted to get that position.

“We will keep our heads down, keep pushing and hopefully we will have more of this moving forwards.”

Norris’ rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri was unfortunate to lose out under the safety car, dropping from third to fourth, with George Russell taking the chequered flag in fifth. Sergio Perez finished sixth after he started a lowly 15th.

Alonso crossed the line in seventh, with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine drive to eighth for Williams.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits the team will soon have no choice but to give up on the development of this season’s car and focus on next year.

Lewis Hamilton claimed a third-placed finish at the British Grand Prix, but was beaten to second by Lando Norris and was well adrift of challenging Max Verstappen – who extended his title lead to 99 points in pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships.

Hamilton was unable to pass McLaren’s Norris following the safety car restart despite being on theoretically faster tyres in the closing stages and the seven-time world champion remains fourth in the drivers’ standings – a whopping 124 points behind Verstappen.

Wolff knows they can not do anything to stop Verstappen and his dominant Red Bull and therefore says the time will soon come to switch focus to next season.

“I think pretty soon,” Wolff said when asked when that time would come. “We have no choice. P2, P3 fundamentally doesn’t impact me and the team.

“It is about coming back to being able to win a world championship.

“That’s not going to happen this year so we need to set our eyes on next year and we will see with all the races to come how we can learn and develop and make sure that we can carry that forward into next year.

“Having said that, the regulations are the same so we are not learning nothing by continuing with this car. So there is a balance to strike.”

The safety car, which was deployed on lap 33, massively benefitted Hamilton, who was able to get a free pit-stop and retain third place after a raft of drivers had already pitted.

With Hamilton, who started seventh, on soft tyres and Norris on hard tyres, it was expected the McLaren man would be a sitting duck but he was able to resist the advances of the Mercedes to clinch a brilliant second place.

It was the same story behind, where Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri comfortably held George Russell at bay to clinch fourth.

Wolff chose to view McLaren’s enormous progress in the last two races as a positive that they can achieve similar, but expected his drivers to be able to secure a double-podium finish.

“To be honest, when the safety car was deployed, I was pretty sure, if not convinced, that we would be eating up the McLarens and finish with a P2 and P3 and maybe even challenge at the front,” Wolff added.

“You see just how strong their car was. They both raced very strong. Their top speed through the corners and the straights, there was no way of passing them. That came as a surprise.

“McLaren were not competitive at the beginning of the season and it is good to see because it shows if you make the right decisions, the car can jump up by a huge amount.

“Do I believe we have upgrades which will fundamentally change the car? I don’t believe so but we have a few small steps to come and we can see if you find a tenth or two or three you can move up the grid.

“Fundamentally I don’t care whether we finish second or third. It is about finding our way back to fighting for victories and the world championship.

“To see that the car has potential fundamentally, all eyes are on the big prize. It is exciting to see that the McLaren was able to find a second in performance.”

Lando Norris described his second-placed finish at the British Grand Prix as “pretty insane” after he held off Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen cruised to a sixth win in a row to extend his championship lead to 99 points in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world titles.

But the late battle between British pair Norris and Hamilton ignited the home crowd at the Northamptonshire circuit.

A safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put him on the harder, more durable, tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound.

But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two countrymen at a sold-out Silverstone.

“Pretty insane,” Norris said in his post-race interview. “Thanks to the whole team who have done an amazing job.

“To put me on hard tyres, I don’t know why! It was an amazing fight with Lewis to hold him off.

“I wanted the softs. I feel like it might make a bit more sense, especially with the safety car coming out but I don’t care, I’m P2 so all good!

“Big thanks to all the British fans here supporting us. Oscar (Piastri) did an amazing job and he would have been P3 without the safety car. He deserved it.”

Piastri finished fourth in the second McLaren, ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell in fifth.

Hamilton labelled the McLaren as a “rocket ship” on his team radio and admitted he had no answer for Norris’ pace.

“Congratulations to Lando and McLaren, my family where I first started,” he said.

“To see them back up there looking so strong. That thing was rapid through the high speed corner, wow. I could not keep up!

“It’s positive for us as a team to know we are not that far away. We just need to keep pushing and we can catch those guys at the front.

“We had a good little battle there. I just didn’t have the grunt on the straights.”

Max Verstappen delivered another crushing performance to win the British Grand Prix as Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton in a brilliant fight for second place.

A late safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put the British driver on the harder, more durable tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound.

But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two home favourites at a sold-out Silverstone.

Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell, with three British drivers finishing in the top five.

Verstappen’s sixth consecutive victory sees the Dutch driver move 99 points clear at the summit of the standings.

“We had a terrible start so we need to look into that,” said Verstappen. “Lando and McLaren were super-quick. It took a few laps to past them and then everything was okay.

“I am very happy that we won again and 11 wins in a row for the team is incredible but it was not straightforward today.”

McLaren have been desperately short of form this season but a major upgrade at the British team’s home race worked wonders.

Indeed, Norris briefly led Sunday’s 52-lap race after he gazumped pole-sitter Verstappen following a supreme start in his McLaren to cheers from the British grandstands.

It marked the first time a McLaren car has led the British Grand Prix since Hamilton led here for the Woking team in 2012.

However, Norris’ time at the top lasted only four-and-a-half laps after Verstappen, in his superior Red Bull machine, drew alongside the Briton on the Wellington Straight before making the move stick into Brooklands.

Piastri was running in third with Russell trying, but failing, to find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton started seventh but dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap before regaining the position when he nailed Fernando Alonso on lap seven.

A tedious race came alive on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt in his Haas. Flames briefly engulfed the rear of his machine before turning to smoke.

With Magnussen’s Haas in a precarious position at the start of the Wellington Straight a full safety car was deployed and Hamilton, who had yet to pit, was the main beneficiary, turning a net seventh into third when the order shuffled out.

Verstappen and Hamilton bolted on the soft rubber, but Norris, despite pleading with his McLaren team to follow suit, was given the hard compound.

When the safety car peeled in at the end of lap 38, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly occupied with Hamilton’s black Mercedes.

Hamilton sensed his opportunity racing around the outside of Norris through Brooklands and then Luffield, only for the McLaren man to hold position.

A third chance arose for Hamilton on the run down Copse but Norris expertly defended the position, leaving Hamilton with nowhere to go.

Hamilton backed out and tried again on the following lap but Norris kept his elbows out and the elder Briton was unable to find a way past.

From there, Norris was able to keep Hamilton at arm’s length, crossing the line 2.9 sec clear of the Mercedes car.

“That McLaren is a rocket ship,” said Hamilton as he crossed the line.

Piastri finished fourth on a fine afternoon for McLaren, one place ahead of Russell, with Sergio Perez sixth after he started a lowly 15th.

Alonso took the flag in seventh with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine eighth for Williams.

Verstappen crossed the line 3.7 sec clear of Norris to maintain Red Bull’s unbeaten streak this season.

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “ruining everything” after he was denied a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by Formula One’s dominant Dutchman.

For a dozen seconds, Norris sat at qualifying’s summit in front of a sell-out Silverstone crowd only to watch Verstappen – the second-but-last man over the line – knock him off his perch.

Verstappen snatched top spot from Norris by 0.241 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on another sub-par afternoon for the grid’s once dominant team.

Norris, 23, has endured a poor season in his under-performing McLaren machine, but the British team’s first major upgrade of the season worked wonders on home turf.

Norris threatened throughout qualifying – sitting at the top of the timings at various stages in Q1, Q2 and Q3 – before a knockout blow from Verstappen stopped him landing only his second career pole.

“I was so close,” said Norris. He added with a smile: “Max ruins everything for everyone.

“I was watching the TV screens and I was surprised how long I stayed up there for. I did not make a mistake. It was all about when Max crossed the line and if he made a mistake, not if we could beat him.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown celebrated wildly, hugging and high-fiving anyone he could find dressed in the team’s papaya colours.

Norris added: “I could hear Zak on the radio during the in-lap, which was the best thing ever. To be second and third was amazing for the whole team.”

Norris will have his work cut out to claim what would be a maiden win in his 92nd start, with Verstappen in a class of one this year.

The 25-year-old Dutchman will be bidding to take his eighth win from the 10 rounds so far on his unrelenting march to a third straight world championship.

“I have some reason to believe we can do OK but not enough to beat this guy,” added Norris, pointing towards the Red Bull man.

“It is clear we have made some progress and we have made a decent step forward. It is payback for the work that has been done by the team.

“Max and I are very good friends. We grew up at a similar time, and we share the same mentality because we love it.

“But as soon as we put the helmet on, all the respect we have off the track, we forget that. It makes no difference about us being friends.”

No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But the Mercedes driver will be deeply frustrated to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans.

Sergio Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of a drying track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive grand prix in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest the sport has ever seen.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “ruining everything” after he was denied a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by Formula One’s dominant Dutchman.

For a dozen seconds, Norris sat at qualifying’s summit in front of a sell-out Silverstone crowd only to watch Verstappen – the second-but-last man over the line – knock him off his perch.

Verstappen snatched top spot from Norris by 0.241 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on another sub-par afternoon for the grid’s once dominant team.

Norris, 23, has endured a poor season in his under-performing McLaren machine, but the British team’s first major upgrade of the season worked wonders on home turf.

Norris threatened throughout qualifying – sitting at the top of the timings at various stages in Q1, Q2 and Q3 – before a knockout blow from Verstappen stopped him landing only his second career pole.

“I was so close,” said Norris. He added with a smile: “Max ruins everything for everyone.

“I was watching the TV screens and I was surprised how long I stayed up there for. I did not make a mistake. It was all about when Max crossed the line and if he made a mistake, not if we could beat him.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown celebrated wildly, hugging and high-fiving anyone he could find dressed in the team’s papaya colours.

Norris added: “I could hear Zak on the radio during the in-lap, which was the best thing ever. To be second and third was amazing for the whole team.”

Norris will have his work cut out to claim what would be a maiden win in his 92nd start, with Verstappen in a class of one this year.

The 25-year-old Dutchman will be bidding to take his eighth win from the 10 rounds so far on his unrelenting march to a third straight world championship.

“I have some reason to believe we can do OK but not enough to beat this guy,” added Norris, pointing towards the Red Bull man.

“It is clear we have made some progress and we have made a decent step forward. It is payback for the work that has been done by the team.

“Max and I are very good friends. We grew up at a similar time, and we share the same mentality because we love it.

“But as soon as we put the helmet on, all the respect we have off the track, we forget that. It makes no difference about us being friends.”

No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But the Mercedes driver will be deeply frustrated to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans.

Sergio Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of a drying track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive grand prix in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest the sport has ever seen.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.

Lewis Hamilton said his “disappointing” result in qualifying for the British Grand Prix must serve as a “wake-up call” for Mercedes.

Hamilton will start his home race in front of a 150,000 sell-out crowd at Silverstone only in seventh place, with team-mate George Russell one spot better off on the grid.

As Max Verstappen, perhaps predictably, raced to his fifth consecutive pole position, McLaren stung a surprise with Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri second and third respectively in their upgraded machines.

Informed of his position over the radio, Hamilton said: “We are so slow.”

McLaren’s resurgence means Hamilton is now even further away from the front – qualifying half-a-second off Verstappen – despite Mercedes bringing a new front wing to Silverstone.

“It is not a blow, but it is just a wake-up call for us,” said Hamilton. “Others are overtaking us and we need to do more.

“I will be optimistic and do my best to get on the podium, but realistically I am not sure we can. We have two Ferraris and two McLarens ahead of us so it is going to be a tough race.

“It is always a great feeling to be at the British Grand Prix, but today it was disappointing that we could not deliver for the fans. Hopefully we can tomorrow.”

Hamilton is the most successful driver at the British Grand Prix – winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But 580 days have now passed since Hamilton last took to the top step of the podium – a run of 32 races which extends back to the final round of the 2021 season.

Mercedes’ major upgrade arrived at Monaco in May, and Hamilton delivered successive podiums at the ensuing rounds in Spain and Canada to provide him with hope he might soon be back in winning contention.

But he finished only eighth in Austria a week ago, and he is facing a tall order to salvage a respectable result on Sunday.

McLaren have been well off the pace so far this year, but their new package – which Hamilton likened to Verstappen’s dominant Red Bull machine – has propelled them ahead of the Silver Arrows.

“I am not surprised by McLaren because if you look at the car it makes sense,” said Hamilton.

“If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it is working. They had the edge on us at the last race so I anticipate tomorrow will be the same.

“McLaren have been on a bad run for so long so I am happy for them. We have another team up in the mix which is what we want to see in the sport.”

Max Verstappen dented Lando Norris’ dream of a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by taking top spot in the closing seconds of a dramatic qualifying session.

Norris surged to the summit of the order to the delight of the Silverstone crowd, only to see Verstappen snatch pole by 0.241 seconds as the last driver over the line.

Norris starts alongside Verstappen, who took his fifth consecutive pole, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren at the British team’s home race.

Lewis Hamilton could manage only seventh, one place behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Verstappen, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships

The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria and he will head into Sunday’s race favourite to extend his lead, particularly after Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q1. He lines up a lowly 16th.

No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But the Mercedes man will be disappointed to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans.

Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of the track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive race in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest Formula One has ever seen.

Perez’s early exit capped a frantic few minutes which saw Verstappen and Hamilton dice for position on a piece of asphalt now named after Britain’s seven-time world champion.

Verstappen fought his way ahead of Hamilton, with the latter almost colliding with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly in the mad scramble to post a lap before the chequered flag fell.

Prior to that, Verstappen required a new front wing after he grazed the wall along the pits just moments after he left his garage.

And even earlier Hamilton survived a spin through the gravel when he lost his control of his Mercedes on the entry to Stowe.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.

Charles Leclerc finished fastest in a rain-hit final practice session for the British Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver set the pace in the dry running before heavy rain arrived at Silverstone.

Williams’ Alex Albon took second place, one spot ahead of Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly fourth for Alpine and Lewis Hamilton fifth.

World champion Max Verstappen, quickest in both sessions at the Northamptonshire venue on Friday, was eighth.

Although the concluding one-hour running before qualifying started in the dry, it was not long before the forecast rain arrived.

In the initial slick conditions, Leclerc was the fastest out of the traps, seeing off Albon by a tenth.

Hamilton finished only 15th on Friday and said there was something wrong with his Mercedes.

But the seven-time world champion moved closer to the front on Saturday morning, finishing half-a-second off the pace.

Heavy showers could continue throughout the day with qualifying due to get under way at 3pm.

Lewis Hamilton finished only 15th in practice on a troubling day for the home favourite at the British Grand Prix.

As a dominant Max Verstappen carried over his crushing form to a sizzling Silverstone by completing an ominous practice double, Hamilton’s Mercedes team laboured in the heat.

Hamilton finished 12th in the opening running, and then ended the day three places further back, 1.2 seconds adrift of Verstappen.

Fellow Briton George Russell was a few places better off in 12th in the other Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz took second for Ferrari, 0.022 sec behind Verstappen, with Alex Albon an impressive third in his Williams. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished fourth, with Albon’s Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant fifth.

Verstappen, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships.

The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the driver to beat following an emphatic start at Silverstone.

Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 races staged here, but the Mercedes man will have to upset the odds to add to his tally on Sunday.

Hamilton has a new front wing as Mercedes hope to claw back the deficit to their rivals. But their star driver was on the radio complaining about the bouncing his machine was suffering from, while Russell was also on the intercom to bemoan his unruly Mercedes.

“I have no grip,” reported Russell. “The car is sliding all over the place.”

Hamilton is in the midst of another up-and-down campaign. He arrived at the last round in Spielberg following consecutive podium finishes, but Mercedes struggled at the Red Bull Ring.

Hamilton crossed the line in seventh and was demoted to eighth following a second timed penalty, and on the evidence of practice, he may be braced for another underwhelming weekend.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, both practice sessions passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt qualifying on Saturday and Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Elsewhere, Lando Norris was only 14th for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc finished rooted to the bottom of the order.

The Monegasque was ruled out of the second running with an electrical failure on his Ferrari.

A dominant Max Verstappen set the practice pace in the first running of the weekend at the British Grand Prix.

The double world champion, a winner at seven of the opening nine rounds of a one-sided campaign, finished nearly half-a-second clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

Lewis Hamilton managed only 12th in front of his home supporters, two places ahead of fellow Briton George Russell in the other Mercedes.

Alex Albon was an impressive third for Williams with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fourth. Charles Leclerc finished fifth for Ferrari.

Verstappen has already established a commanding 81-point lead in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships.

The Dutch driver cruised to the chequered flag a week ago at Red Bull’s home race in Austria, and he will head into the remainder of the weekend as the driver to beat following an emphatic start at a sun-cooked Silverstone.

Verstappen pulled on the speediest soft tyres with a dozen minutes to go and crossed the line 0.448 seconds ahead of Perez in the other Red Bull.

Hamilton has won seven of the last 10 races staged at Silverstone, but the seven-time world champion will have to upset the odds to add to his tally on Sunday.

The 38-year-old finished a distant 1.1 sec adrift of Verstappen and was on the radio complaining about the bouncing in his upgraded Mercedes machine.

Russell was also on the intercom to bemoan his unruly Mercedes, ending the one-hour running a tenth back from Hamilton.

However, neither Hamilton nor Russell posted a lap on the fastest soft compound.

Nyck de Vries is under pressure to keep his seat with AlphaTauri and the rookie Dutchman was the only driver to fall off the road in practice.

De Vries spun into the gravel at Turn 7 but was able to keep his car going through the sand trap before returning to his garage.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, the first running passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt the three days of running, with 480,000 people anticipated to pass through the gates this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton has defended the casting of Brad Pitt as a Formula One driver with the Hollywood actor to start filming for his new blockbuster at the British Grand Prix on Friday.

Pitt will race an adapted Formula Two machine between practice sessions at a sold-out Silverstone for the movie which Hamilton is helping to produce.

It is understood that the 59-year-old American will play the role of a veteran driver returning to the grid after a 30-year absence.

The plot line has raised eyebrows, given Pitt’s age, but Hamilton said: “Brad looks like he’s ageing backwards. He looks great for his age.

“Of course that was a big topic at the beginning when we were discussing the first story. But he’s super-fit.

“He is such an iconic actor. He’s always done such an incredible job. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Brad Pitt in Formula One. It’s incredible.”

Pitt has been getting up to speed in Formula Two machinery for two months – first at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France and then here at Silverstone.

While Pitt will be alone on track at Silverstone in a modified car prepared by Hamilton’s Mercedes team, it is believed that the assistance of computer generated imagery will make him look as though he is racing this season’s grid.

A garage has been set up in the paddock to replicate a fictional “11th team”, called Apex GP. They will also have a presence on the grid ahead of Sunday’s race, but will be withdrawn before the event gets under way.

“There are nerves because it is something we’ve been working on for so long,” added Hamilton.

“We want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about.

“I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 years ago when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth.

“But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show, and this will take it to new heights beyond that.”

Apple has bought the rights to the movie with a reported budget of 140 million US dollars (£125 million).

Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick, will direct the film, while Jerry Bruckheimer – who also worked on the Tom Cruise blockbuster – is listed as a producer.

Filming will continue at a number of races over the remainder of the season.

Max Verstappen believes next season’s Formula One calendar is too long and hinted it will be a factor in whether he stays in the sport beyond 2028 – but George Russell thinks the Red Bull driver simply wants more money.

The Dutchman is powering towards a third successive drivers’ title – holding an 81-point lead heading into this weekend’s British Grand Prix – but has again suggested that ongoing disgruntlement with elements of the sport might cause him to walk away at the end of his current contract.

The 2024 Formula One calendar was released on Wednesday and it will feature a record 24 races – starting on March 2 and ending on December 8.

Verstappen says that is too many and, having already hit out at the increase in the number of sprint races and the new car regulations for 2026 this season, says he will need certain conditions if he is to extend his stay in the sport.

“It is too many (races) for me but we just have to deal with it,” Verstappen, whose Red Bull deal expires in 2028, said.

“I think it (the calendar) is a bit more logical the way that it is planned at least, I guess that is better for everyone.

“But more things will have to come together for me to make my mind up over whether I stay longer (than 2028) or not. But I think that these things are definitely not helping for sure.”

Mercedes driver Russell believes talk of retirement is a tactic from Verstappen but admitted that the lengthening calendar and the commitments on the drivers is an issue.

“I think he is whingeing because he wants more money!” Russell said.

“He is the highest paid on this grid and rightly so for what he is achieving but I think it is all a big tactic of his, this threat of retirement.

“I hope he doesn’t – I hope he stays for as long as I stay because I want to fight against the best drivers in the world.

“I think we are in a great place at the moment with the sport.

“It is challenging, we can’t just keep adding more commitments and races, there has to be a point where if you add something then something has to be taken off.

“We are adding more races and more commitments and we are working overtime and I’m pretty sure that’s the case at Red Bull.

“If we didn’t have any other commitments I’m pretty sure we’d be happy to race every weekend.

“I am doing what I love. Almost the more the merrier to a certain extent. We are the most privileged people in the world to be Formula One drivers. There are a lot of things that come with it.

“I would happily take more races but less commitment outside of the race weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton has said he would welcome a protest from Just Stop Oil campaigners at this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

The climate activists targeted Wimbledon on Wednesday and have caused disruption at the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.

Asked ahead of Sunday’s race, if he would support a protest which did not involve people invading the track, Hamilton said: “Yes. I support peaceful protests.”

Five people invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.

The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.

Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and 150,000 fans in place for the race.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton added: “We are hoping we have learnt from the experience (of last year).

“We have 100 more marshals this weekend which will be supportive to make sure it doesn’t happen.

“From my perspective, and my teams’ perspective, we are focused on sustainability and we believe in what people (the protesters) are fighting for and we are making those changes as a sport.

“But safety is key. We don’t want to put them in harm’s way and we don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way. If there was to be one (a protest) we hope it is not on track.”

Earlier this week, McLaren driver Lando Norris told Just Stop Oil campaigners that they would be “stupid and selfish” to put lives in danger by protesting

But Williams’ London-born Alex Albon believes an attack is likely. “There is a high chance of something happening this week,” he said.

“It is a concern because a pitch invasion is one thing but with cars and moving parts it gets a bit more dangerous to some extent.”

Max Verstappen is in the form of his career, but Williams team principal James Vowles is confident other teams are closing in on Red Bull.

Verstappen is well clear in the drivers' championship, having won seven races already in 2023. 

Red Bull, with their other driver Sergio Perez occupying second place, are also the runaway leaders in the constructors' championship.

Vowles, though, does think the gap is gradually beginning to close.

Asked how teams can stop the Verstappen-Red Bull juggernaut, he told Stats Perform: "It's a meritocracy. They've done the best job with the same finances available, not the same equipment, the same finances available as everyone else. 

"He's on fire at the moment. There's just every race where you think he might struggle. He still pulls one out of the bag and does well. 

"I think what you are seeing is people catching up. That's the slight difference. There is a closing of the gap relative to what happened before. It's just going to take time for that to fully kick in."

Before taking charge of Williams, Vowles was the motorsport strategy director at Mercedes, who have endured a difficult time since the start of the 2022 season.

"I think Mercedes lost a year's worth of development simply because the direction they went down was quite different to really the rest of the field," he said.

"And sometimes you have to believe in what you're doing at one point, which is what they've done now, you have to realise that is the wrong direction.

"But that year hasn't been undone. You can't just undo it in the space of one week.

"So what you'll see from this is that now we're going to slowly start, I'm sure, to learn what the package is and how to develop it because they are an incredible organisation and will get back to the front, but it's going to take them I think from here another six months, 12 months to be able to do that."

Asked if F1 was becoming too predictable, Vowles replied: "I think there always is a risk of that. That's like any sport, when you can predict the result, it's less interesting.

"The only thing is I'd go back and say, actually, Austria was one of the most interesting races we've had so far this year, so the gems are still there and this won't last forever.

"[Verstappen] will come back towards everyone else and it just takes a little bit more time than we're expecting. But he will do."

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