Lando Norris lit up Silverstone on Friday afternoon, clocking the fastest time in a wind-affected FP2 session for the 2025 British Grand Prix. The McLaren driver’s impressive performance kept him just ahead of the Ferrari pairing of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, capping an eventful day in Northamptonshire as the build-up to qualifying gathers pace.
Rising temperatures between the morning and afternoon sessions did little to change the character of the circuit, with the tarmac holding steady near 38 degrees Celsius. What did make a difference was the brisk wind that cut across the track, repeatedly catching out even the most experienced drivers and complicating car set-ups through the high-speed corners.
Hamilton continued his strong start to the weekend, initially leading the times on medium compound tyres as drivers found their feet in the opening phase of FP2. His lap of 1:26.592 put him top for the first 20 minutes, but the true pecking order only emerged once teams began their qualifying simulations on the softer C4 tyres.
George Russell was first out for Mercedes on the red-walled tyres, but his lap was quickly bettered by his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who managed to find nearly two tenths despite wrestling with oversteer at the final corner.
Charles Leclerc then set the early benchmark with a 1:26.202, though the Monegasque radioed his team to report issues with his front-left tyre: “There’s so much lap time in it,” he remarked, feeling he had left time on the table.
That was the invitation Norris needed. The home crowd erupted as he delivered a stunning 1:25.816, moving four tenths clear of Leclerc and cementing his spot as the driver to beat heading into Saturday. Hamilton, meanwhile, abandoned his first flying run on softs but rallied on his next attempt, settling in just behind Leclerc at the end of the session.
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Ferrari and McLaren in the spotlight
Leclerc and Hamilton completed the top three, both looking sharp as Ferrari’s recent updates continued to pay dividends. Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest, although nearly half a second adrift of his McLaren teammate—a gap that underscores the confidence Norris is carrying after his win in Austria.
Max Verstappen finished fifth for Red Bull, with the Dutchman voicing his frustration over the radio: “Have you seen my front tyres in the high speed? They just don’t respond.” Verstappen struggled to unlock the front-end grip required at Silverstone, a trend that has haunted Red Bull through much of the early summer.
Just behind, Antonelli ended his session in sixth, followed by Lance Stroll for Aston Martin. Russell’s earlier effort left him eighth, as the Racing Bulls pair of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson rounded out the top ten with promising midfield pace.
Wind, spins, and strategy shape the Silverstone picture
Elsewhere, wind gusts played havoc, particularly for Carlos Sainz, who spun at Luffield after being caught out by a 20 km/h blast just 15 minutes into the session.
The Spaniard avoided contact but was later investigated for rejoining the track unsafely in front of Nico Hulkenberg. The session, however, saw fewer dramatic incidents than the morning, when Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto survived high-speed spins at Copse without major damage.
As drivers switched focus to long-run pace in the final part of FP2, both Ferrari and McLaren appeared closely matched on race simulations, with Norris, Hamilton, and Leclerc all showing promising consistency. Verstappen and Piastri followed closely on race pace, hinting at a strategic chess match for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
