Verstappen leads training sessions in the UK and surprises Albon

Written by Alan Baldwin

SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) – Max Verstappen completed second in practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Friday, with Ferrari closing in from behind and Williams’ Alex Albon surprisingly quickening behind Formula 1 leaders Red Bull.

Verstappen led Mexican team-mate Sergio Perez by finishing one-two on the opener and was fastest again in the late afternoon when last year’s winner Carlos Sainz finished second on Ferrari’s timetable.

“I think it was a good day for us,” said Verstappen. “It was very slippery at the start, but I also think that is due to the high pressures we have on the tyres.

“Overall the car ran very well. The performance was strong on both sessions and we were able to complete our programme.”

Albon scored third in both sunny sessions for the team finishing 9th of 10 in the championship, with fellow American rookie Logan Sargeant also finishing fifth in the second free session.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the Williams pair were “absolutely fantastic”. “It’s a right lap, not just one, and their long distances make a lot of sense. At that pace they’ll be a factor in the late group,” he said.

Dutch World Champion Verstappen set his best time of 28.078 minutes in the second free session after lapping in 1:28.600 in the first. Sainz was only 0.022 slower.

Verstappen’s closest rival for the title was Perez, but with 81 points after nine races he was 0.448 slower in the first session and 0.264 slower in the second when the Mexican finished fourth. Verstappen has won seven races this season and is chasing a sixth consecutive win for the first time in his career.

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McLaren record

Red Bull has won every race, adding last year’s final, and is bidding for its 11th consecutive win to equal McLaren’s record from 1988, set by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished fourth and 10th respectively, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fifth in the opener.

Mercedes got off to a slow start to the weekend, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton only finishing 12th and teammate George Russell 14th in the first practice session, where they were the only ones not to use the soft tyres.

Russell was 12th while eight-time home winner Hamilton was 15th. “It’s a tough car to drive. No matter what we do with the setup, it’s still a tough car to drive,” said Hamilton.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing in Spanish by Aida Beleth-Fernandez)