Global Courant
The two-time Dutch champion and leader of the current World Championship dominated the trials of the British Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc’s face said more than a thousand words at Silverstone. The Monegasque, under the SF23 while the mechanics could not solve the electrical problem that arose in the car, could not come out of the pits to test in the second practice, which marked a new mastery of Max Verstappen, the overwhelming leader of the World Cup Formula 1 and fastest in practice this Friday at the British Grand Prix.
Leclerc, who had set fifth time in the first session, remained in the Maranello team’s garage despite the fact that the primary idea was to fix the fault in the electrical system in time. However, according to what was reported in the team’s pits, it took about an hour to resolve it.
“It’s a shame he couldn’t take part because we have some race simulations left for Sunday, but we’ll work to maximize what we have in preparation for qualifying and the race anyway,” the 25-year-old emphasized.
At Ferrari they will have to work with the information that Carlos Sainz did get, who managed to place second, just 22 thousandths behind Verstappen. The last winner of this Grand Prix turned in 1’28″100 with the SF23 after setting the seventh time in the opening session.
Both mounted soft tires in that second session in which the Thai Alexander Albon surprised with Williams, closing 218 thousandths of a second behind Verstappen and repeating the position he had achieved in the first practice, in which the second best time had been by the Mexican Sergio Pérez, with the other Red Bull, who in the afternoon was fourth, 264 thousandths behind his teammate.
It was a great day for Williams, as rookie Logan Sargeant finished fifth in the afternoon test -688 thousandths off the best time-, ahead of Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), German Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), from Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpin-Renault), Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), all under 1’29”, and Spanish two-time world champion Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who completed the top ten best records.
A dull day was lived by the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifteenth with Mercedes, more than a second behind the best time (with 1’29″283) and who in the first session had achieved the twelfth time (1’29″768), while his teammate and compatriot George Russell climbed from fourteenth to twelfth time in the second session (1’29″238).
Perhaps the work of the German team (with which Hamilton stated the day before that he will sit down to negotiate his contract before the end of the season without depending on the results he obtains) focused on other issues. For now, it seems difficult for him to extend his record of wins at Silverstone, where he won in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021, with Hamilton being the driver with the most celebrations on this circuit.
Verstappen will surely feel optimistic, who commands the championship with 229 points, who has added seven of nine possible victories so far this season (the remaining two were celebrated by Pérez) and who this Saturday will go for pole position to aspire to celebrate his first victory at Silverstone in the top flight and take another step in defending the crown.
The track conditions could be different, as the forecasts announce rain that would force the teams to modify their strategies.
With information from ANSA
