Only Norris ahead of Ferraris at Silverstone. Vasseur: “A great battle awaits us tomorrow”

SILVERSTONE. Something has changed. There is still a McLaren in front of everyone , the best time on Friday at Silverstone is by Lando Norris, but Ferrari is finally there, competitive, aggressive . Close. Theoretically in the running, although it is better to wait for the qualifications to be verified, even for the victory. And with both drivers. Because the circuit he loves most has awakened Lewis Hamilton, transformed compared to the recent past by the air of home, by the track of which he knows every inch, where he has won 9 times (an absolute record in the history of Formula 1) and in every way, dominating, chasing, in the rain, even on three wheels as in 2020, when the large advantage over Max Verstappen allowed him to manage the failure of the left front tire. Lewis ended the free practice session in the lead, the initial one, for the first time since he has been at Ferrari, which is enough to confirm that the evolution of the floor introduced in Spielberg is working and that here in Silverstone, on a circuit that is more representative in this respect, it has given even more advantages, increasing the load on the SF-25 to the point that the Ferrari drivers were able to progressively unload the rear wing. In the afternoon Norris returned to the lead, but Charles Leclerc (second) and Hamilton (third) set their respective times on tyres that were a few laps older. As for race pace, Lewis complained about the "graining" on the tyres, probably after having pushed a little too hard, encouraged by the great pace shown at lunchtime.

In any case , it was the best Friday of the season for the Prancing Horse , as even Oscar Piastri (4th), leader of the World Championship, noticed: «Ferrari very competitive both in the qualifying simulation and in the race pace, it was a surprise». This was confirmed by Frederic Vasseur, the team principal who returned to his post after last Sunday's forfeit in Austria, due to «personal reasons»: «Probably tomorrow we will see a good battle – comments the team principal thinking about the fight for pole -, the best since the start of the championship». «We have to maximize the qualifying but the set-up for the race is good», the comforting final team radio from Leclerc. When it comes to the evolved bottom, an update that will be completed in three weeks at Spa by the new rear suspension, Vasseur tries to keep expectations under control: «I hope it helped us, of course – he says -, but I think it's more a question of putting everything together, we had a good balance but we are still not fully satisfied. But it was a good day, everything went well and the race pace was there also in the afternoon, maybe we pushed a little too much but the drivers did well to push. Lewis charged up by the home GP? Yes, it's the best way to find the limit". And leave almost everyone behind: but also keep an eye on Max Verstappen, fifth behind Oscar Piastri («For me it was a pretty negative day», says the Dutchman), and the Mercedes, with Kimi Antonelli (6th) faster than George Russell.