SILVERSTONE, England – Valtteri Bottas got off to a fast start Friday at the Silverstone Circuit by setting the fastest time of the day.
Bottas topped the combined practice charts with a best lap of 1:26.732, which he set during the second practice aboard his Mercedes F1 W10 EQ Power+/03.
“I’ve had a good day from the get-go, both in terms of my own performance and the set-up of the car,” Bottas said. “It’s always a nice feeling when you start a weekend like that. The track is less bumpy than last year which is nice; they did a good job on the asphalt and it was very enjoyable to drive. The new surface is quite grippy, but sometimes you can lose the grip very suddenly on new tarmac. The car seems quite well-balanced, but I think there’s still room for improvement. It felt quick around the corners and there’s plenty of corners in Silverstone, so that’s a good thing.
“I still think it’s going to be close again tomorrow and it will be all about who finds the most performance tonight and tomorrow before qualifying, but it’s nice to start the weekend on a positive note.”
Bottas was closely followed by his teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton on the practice charts, with Hamilton finishing .069 of a second off the pace set by Bottas.
Ferrari’s duo of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were hot on the heels of the Mercedes pair, with Leclerc finishing the day third and Vettel fourth.
Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly was fifth overall after setting the pace in the opening practice session of the day. Gasly was followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr., Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.