Rivals have no answer as Red Bull dominate British practice

Max Verstappen outpaced his teammate Sergio Perez as the Red Bull pair scored a predictable one-two in Friday’s opening practice for this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
The defending double world champion and runaway series leader, seeking his first win at Silverstone since 2020, clocked a best lap in one minute and 28.600 seconds to beat the Mexican by four-tenths.
It was a typically dominant performance from the champion team as they seek this weekend a record-equalling 11th consecutive race victory, to draw level with McLaren’s 1988 achievement.
Behind the duo from the nearby Milton Keynes-based team, Williams’ Alex Albon took third ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon of Alpine.
Carlos Sainz was seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
Verstappen was the only man to dip below the 1:29 barrier.
On a bright day at the former wartime airbase, packed with fans, Verstappen was quick to take command in the opening session and was soon on top ahead of the two Ferraris.
After 20 minutes, the Dutchman had lapped seven-tenths faster than Leclerc with Sainz third, a further tenth adrift, ahead - until he was dislodged by an improved lap from Perez, who took third.
Verstappen soon had his Red Bull team-mate in much closer proximity in second place before, with half an hour remaining Sainz went top in 1:29.357 on soft tyres.
There was little for the home British fans to cheer at this stage with Lewis Hamilton sixth, George Russell 17th and Norris in 15th, the seven-time champion reporting ‘bouncing is pretty bad’ after one lively lap.
Leclerc, on softs, then went second before Russell took fourth as most teams switched to softs.
With 15 minutes remaining, Red Bull made the switch to softs. Perez swept back to third and then Verstappen, in 1:28.836, demonstrated his current level of supreme form.
He was almost half a second clear of Leclerc at the first attempt - until Alonso went second, four-tenths off, to be swiftly replaced in second by Albon, in 1:29.089, an impressive lap by the Williams driver.
As Mercedes persisted on mediums, Hamilton survived a big over-steer moment at Stowe, before Perez slotted into second to ensure Red Bull had a one-two outcome. The Mercedes men ended up 12th and 14th.
Red Bull say they are ahead of
schedule on 2026 engines
Formula One champions Red Bull are finding potential problems with the sport’s 2026 engine because they are ahead of schedule in building their own, according to team boss Christian Horner.
The Briton and double world champion Max Verstappen have both voiced concerns about the characteristics of the new power unit, prompting some speculation that they may be behind on development.
The new unit has a 50-50 ratio of internal combustion engine to electric and Horner has warned that the quickest way around a lap will be for drivers to downshift on the straights to recharge the batteries.
Red Bull, who will be partnered by Ford from 2026 after a complete split from Honda, have recruited engine experts from rivals Mercedes and elsewhere and built a powertrains plant as part of an expanding 50-acre ‘campus’ in Milton Keynes.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff asked in Austria last weekend what Horner’s ‘real motivation’ might be in criticising the 2026 rules and suggested maybe his rival was ‘frightened’ of being uncompetitive.
“I actually think we’re in good shape. We’ve got two-and-a-half years,” Horner told select reporters on a factory visit ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, referring to “scaremongering”. “I am not sure how close Toto is to his engine business,” he added.
“As you start to see the programme really coming to life and as the simulations firm up, (you see) some of the limitations. Which are inevitable.
“So I would say it is perhaps a result of us maybe being well advanced, that we’re actually seeing some of the limitations,” he added.
Horner felt it was not too late to tweak the specifications, and it would not take much.
“Whether you do it on the fuel flow or the cell mass, you just need to change that ratio slightly to ensure that we get great racing,” added Formula One’s longest-serving team boss.
Verstappen said in Austria that the data on the simulator “looks pretty terrible”.
“If you go flat-out on the straight at Monza... like 400 or 500 (metres) before the end of the straight, you have to downshift flat-out because that’s faster. I think that’s not the way forward,” added the Dutch driver.
“We have to seriously look at this because I mean, 2026 is not that far away. And at the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already.”