F1 practice LIVE: Lewis Hamilton finishes second in FP2 with Carlos Sainz on top and Lando Norris third

Follow live F1 coverage as the British Grand Prix weekend kicks off with free practice sessions one and two at Silverstone. Last time out in Canada, Max Verstappen claimed his sixth victory of the season in Montreal, holding off a late charge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The reigning world champion’s lead at the top of the Championship leaderboard is now 46 points from team-mate Sergio Perez.

Lewis Hamilton finished third - only his second podium of the season - while fellow British team-mate George Russell came home in fourth. Both the Silver Arrows and Ferrari - with Charles Leclerc having had a month to forget - will be striving to get back on the podium this weekend.

Hamilton won last season’s race, after crashing with Verstappen in a memorable moment on the opening lap at Copse corner - and an incident which has sprung back into the public eye given Nelson Piquet’s racist language to describe Hamilton when speaking about the crash.

Follow all the latest updates as we build towards this weekend’s British Grand Prix:

F1 British Grand Prix Practice

• Police warn ‘reckless’ Silverstone protestors not to invade F1 track

• Lewis Hamilton backs down in F1 jewellery row and removes nose stud

• Valtteri Bottas goes fastest in a rain-affected first practice

• Carlos Sainz goes quickest in FP2, with Hamilton second and Lando Norris third

Here’s the full leaderboard from third practice!

13:14 , Kieran Jackson

Verstappen fastest in third practice!

13:01 , Kieran Jackson

The Championship leader undoubtedly the star of the show there - fastest in all three sectors and top of the timesheets with a 1:27:901, 0:410 seconds faster than Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in second.

After the cautious optimism of yesterday, perhaps a reality check for Mercedes. Gerorge ruussell is in fourth and Lewis Hamilton is in fifth. Charles Leclerc completed the top-three on this occasion, with Carlos Sainz sixth and Lando Norris seventh.

5 minutes to go in FP3

12:53 , Kieran Jackson

The final few laps for the drivers to get to grips with the track and conditions before qualifying in a few hours...

Verstappen is still top and the only man in the 1:27s - with team-mate Sergio Perez now in second 0.410 seconds behind.

Leclerc is third, Russell and Hamilton fourth and fifth respectively...

Could Mercedes be Red Bull’s closest challenger again?!

12:44 , Kieran Jackson

Christian Horner, speaking to Channel 4, about his feud with Toto Wolff last season - and could it rear it’s head again here at Silverstone?

“I haven’t missed it!”

We have.

Verstappen and Hamilton still the top-two - closely followed by Russell - heading into the final 20 minutes of third practice.

No rain expected in FP3

12:34 , Kieran Jackson

But showers are expected to land later in the afternoon...

Verstappen and Hamilton neck-and-neck!

12:33 , Kieran Jackson

This would be quite something for these two to be top dogs again this weekend!

While Verstappen first storms ahead of the field, half-a-second quicker than second place, Hamilton responds and is just a tenth down on the Dutchman.

Verstappen then goes just quicker with a 1:28:386 before Hamilton goes 0.102 seconds slower.

Imagine, just imagine, if these two are on the front row for tomorrow. One year on...

Leclerc still top - with Hamilton in third

12:21 , Kieran Jackson

Leclerc has set a new fastest lap with the majority of the field on soft tyres...

Sergio Perez is in second, Hamilton third and Sainz in fourth.

Sainz, much like yesterday, still complaining of bouncing in the high speed sections...

Leclerc quickest in first 10 minutes

12:10 , Kieran Jackson

About half the cars have been out on track - notably the two Mercedes’ are yet to leave the garage.

Charles Leclerc, who is hunting a stellar weekend after a month or so to forget in the Ferrari, has just gone quickest, four-tenths faster than team-mate Carlos Sainz in second.

Stroll and Vettel in the Aston Martins are the first cars out on track...

12:04 , Kieran Jackson

And we’re underway with third practice! One final hour for teams and their drivers to get tuned ahead of qualifying this afternoon...

Third practice is about to get underway here at Silverstone!

12:00 , Kieran Jackson

Here are the current drivers standings:

11:58 , Kieran Jackson

Driver championship

1. Max Verstappen - 175 points

2. Sergio Perez - 129 points

3. Charles Leclerc - 126 points

4. George Russell - 111 points

5. Carlos Sainz - 102 points

6. Lewis Hamilton - 77 points

7. Lando Norris - 50 points

8. Valtteri Bottas - 46 points

9. Esteban Ocon - 39 points

10. Fernando Alonso - 18 points

11. Pierre Gasly - 16 points

12. Kevin Magnussen - 15 points

13. Daniel Ricciardo - 15 points

14. Sebastian Vettel -13 points

15. Yuki Tsunoda - 11 points

16. Guanyu Zhou - 5 points

17. Alex Albon - 3 points

18. Lance Stroll - 2 points

19. Mick Schumacher - 0 points

20. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 points

21. Nicholas Latifi - 0 points

If you missed it yesterday...

11:24 , Kieran Jackson

Christian Horner speaks about the dropping of junior driver Juri Vips and Nelson Piquet’s language to Lewis Hamilton...

Here’s a recap of all the action on Friday:

10:58 , Kieran Jackson

Lewis Hamilton gives cause for optimism ahead of British Grand Prix weekend

Good morning!

10:30 , Kieran Jackson

Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of third practice and qualifying at the British Grand Prix!

There’s grey skies in the air here at Silverstone, with rain expected in and around qualifying later.

Here are your timings for today:

- Third practice: 12pm

- Qualifying: 3pm (BST)

Both Sainz and Hamilton complained of bouncing - yet they finished in the top-two!

Friday 1 July 2022 17:45 , Kieran Jackson

Is Max saving something in the locker for Saturday?

Friday 1 July 2022 17:19 , Kieran Jackson

FP2 results in full:

Friday 1 July 2022 17:10 , Kieran Jackson

Sainz on top in FP2!

Friday 1 July 2022 17:03 , Kieran Jackson

Despite the advantage of taking Hamilton’s slipstream, Russell cannot improve on his time...

Sainz is first on the ledarboard but cause for optimism for Mercedes perhaps? Hamilton is second after that session, with Norris in third - the pair are less than two-tenths off the Ferrari pace-setter.

Not a bad hour for the Brits!

Russell pits for softs

Friday 1 July 2022 16:59 , Kieran Jackson

A quick pit-stop from the Mercedes man, who will have one more go to put his car up the leaderboard....

Expectedly, every car now out on track - will we see any change to the leaderboard?

10 minutes to go...

Friday 1 July 2022 16:54 , Kieran Jackson

George Russell is complaining of a lack of grip out on track, in response to his engineer saying he can push hard - he currently lies in eighth.

One point to note is, currently, the gap between the top-9 cars is no more than one second, with Leclerc in fifth only four-tenths off his Ferrari team-mate Sainz, who still leads the pack heading into the closing stages.

Promising signs...

15 minutes to go...

Friday 1 July 2022 16:46 , Kieran Jackson

Encouraging for British fans. Hamilton is now in second, 0,163 seconds off leader Sainz while Norris is also in the top-three.

With the whole field now on softs, who will have the momentum heading into Saturday?

It wouldn’t be a Friday without track congestion...

Friday 1 July 2022 16:45 , Kieran Jackson

30 minutes to go...

Friday 1 July 2022 16:30 , Kieran Jackson

We’re half-way through FP2 as the majority of the field switch to the soft tyre.

Lando Norris has just set the quickest time of the day, with Leclerc and Sainz in second and third respectively.

George Russell is now in fourth, Hamilton (on the mediums) down in ninth.

20 minutes gone...

Friday 1 July 2022 16:22 , Kieran Jackson

All but one car is now in the pits.

The Ferraris are top of the timseheets with Leclerc still in first, followed by the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

Hamilton is in fifth, while team-mate Russell is yet to set a meaningful time and is currently down in 17th.

Hamilton complaining of bouncing

Friday 1 July 2022 16:17 , Kieran Jackson

The radio message no Mercedes fans want to hear. Hamilton’s team radio: “Bouncing a lot at high speed.”

Bye bye optimism. Maybe I’m speaking too soon...

Anyhow, Max Verstappen has just gone second, with Leclerc now in first and Sainz down to third.

Ferraris are on top early on

Friday 1 July 2022 16:10 , Kieran Jackson

Ten minutes in and it’s Carlos Sainz who leads the way as the only man under 1 minute 30 seconds, with team-mate Charles Leclerc nearly a second behind.

Lewis Hamilton has just gone over the line to go third...

Practice 2 starts!

Friday 1 July 2022 16:03 , Kieran Jackson

Dry conditions finally in Northamptonshire as FP2 gets underway, with all cars heading out promptly on track...

5 minutes until FP2!

Friday 1 July 2022 15:55 , Kieran Jackson

And good news... it’s dry here at Silverstone!

Formula 3 have just completed an uninterrupted qualifying session and the F1 paddock now take their places for a - fingers-crossed - smooth hour’s running out on the track, after a largely meaningless first practice session.

Enjoyed Helmet cam? How about pedal cam!

Friday 1 July 2022 15:40 , Kieran Jackson

Another addition to the Formula 1 camera repertoire was displayed in FP1!

Five of the best at Silverstone

Friday 1 July 2022 15:20 , Kieran Jackson

The Formula One circus has stopped off at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. We look back at five of the best F1 races at the Northamptonshire track.

https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/nigel-mansell-michael-schumacher-silverstone-northamptonshire-british-b2113869.html

This was a nice moment at the start of FP1

Friday 1 July 2022 14:57 , Kieran Jackson

It was probably the best moment of the session!

Here are the FP1 results in full:

Friday 1 July 2022 14:14 , Kieran Jackson

Hard to decipher too much from that...

Valtteri Bottas goes fastest in FP1

Friday 1 July 2022 14:06 , Kieran Jackson

Valtteri Bottas was the fastest man out on track in P1, posting a 1:42:249 lap time, half-a-second quicker than former team-mate Lewis Hamilton - who posted his time late in the day on the soft tyre.

Carlos Sainz was two-tenths further back in third spot, with team-mate Charles Leclerc nearly a second off him in fourth.

Valtteri Bottas goes fastest in FP1

Friday 1 July 2022 14:06 , Kieran Jackson

Valtteri Bottas was the fastest man out on track in P1, posting a 1:42:249 lap time, half-a-second quicker than former team-mate Lewis Hamilton - who posted his time late in the day on the soft tyre.

Carlos Sainz was two-tenths further back in third spot, with team-mate Charles Leclerc nearly a second off him in fourth.

RED FLAG: Stroll in the gravel!

Friday 1 July 2022 14:01 , Kieran Jackson

Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin is at his home track but is in the gravel at Copse!

The Canadian just loses grip at the apex, spinning relatively calmly into the sand.

That’s it for free practice one!

3 minutes to go...

Friday 1 July 2022 13:59 , Kieran Jackson

Plenty of cars now out on track to complete a lap or two before the end of the session, with many on soft tyres.

Only 10 drivers have set lap times so far...

Hamilton is back out on track!

Friday 1 July 2022 13:54 , Kieran Jackson

To the applause of the British fans, the eight-time winner here is the only car back out on track with just over 12 minutes to go in first practice...

Bad news: it’s just started raining again...

Friday 1 July 2022 13:45 , Kieran Jackson

All 20 cars are still in the pits with 15 minutes to go of first practice, which has turned into a bit of a damp squib here.

Lewis Hamilton has returned to his cockpit though... might we have a few cars run in the closing stages?

Lewis Hamilton takes out nose stud as Mercedes star backs down in F1 jewellery row

Friday 1 July 2022 13:40 , Kieran Jackson

Here’s more on Hamilton taking out his nose stud for first practice on Friday:

Lewis Hamilton takes out nose stud as Brit backs down in F1 jewellery row

No cars out on track at the moment

Friday 1 July 2022 13:38 , Kieran Jackson

All 10 teams are waiting for the rain to clear...

Wet conditions means just a handful of cars are out on track at the moment...

Friday 1 July 2022 13:19 , Kieran Jackson

Lap times are very varied at the moment, with some of the drivers taking it easy amid the wet conditions.

The good news? No more rain is expected in this session.

BREAKING: Reports are coming in that Hamilton - who has already been out on track - has removed his nose stud

Friday 1 July 2022 13:15 , Kieran Jackson

It seems the Mercedes driver has complied with the FIA.

Hamilton and Russell are first out on the track!

Friday 1 July 2022 13:08 , Kieran Jackson

Of course, it’s raining at Silverstone!

Not many cars out on track so far - Charles Leclerc is the only driver to have completed a lap so far.

10 minutes until FP1 starts at Silverstone!

Friday 1 July 2022 12:50 , Kieran Jackson

Who will put down the early benchmark this weekend?

Look who’s here!

Friday 1 July 2022 12:30 , Kieran Jackson

Lewis Hamilton is targeting a ninth triumph at the British Grand Prix this weekend.

First practice gets underway in half-an-hour...

BREAKING NEWS: Police warn ‘reckless’ Silverstone protestors not to invade F1 track

Friday 1 July 2022 12:15 , Kieran Jackson

Protestors are planning on disrupting this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone with an invasion of the track possible on race day, according to “credible intelligence” received from Northants Police.

The local police force - who are in charge of policing for this weekend’s event with 400,000 spectators expected over the the three days - have sent a stern warning to the group and are willing to communicate about faciliating a “peaceful protest.”

The plea emphasised to the group that running on to a live racetrack is “extremely dangerous” and their plan during Sunday’s race would “jeopardise lives.”

Full story below:

Police warn ‘reckless’ Silverstone protestors not to invade F1 track

F1 standings: 2022 driver and constructor championship table

Friday 1 July 2022 11:50 , Kieran Jackson

Need a reminder? Here are the standings after the first nine races of the season:

F1 standings: 2022 driver and constructor championship table

Lewis Hamilton says F1’s ‘older voices’ should no longer be given a platform

Friday 1 July 2022 11:35 , Kieran Jackson

In response to Piquet’s comments, and that of Bernie Ecclestone yesterday, Lewis Hamilton did not beat around the bush in the pre-race press conference.

Hamilton has called for Bernie Ecclestone and Sir Jackie Stewart to be censored, and declared “enough is enough” after Nelson Piquet’s racial slur.

The seven-time world champion was speaking ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix – days after 69-year-old Piquet’s offensive reference to Hamilton emerged from a podcast recorded last November.

Triple world champion Stewart, 83, said recently that Hamilton should “resign” after struggling for results this season, while Ecclestone, 91, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday that he would “take a bullet” for Vladimir Putin, also describing the Russian president as a “first-class person”.

‘Enough is enough’: Lewis Hamilton hits back at Bernie Ecclestone and Nelson Piquet

Max Verstappen believes Nelson Piquet is ‘not a racist’ but agrees his choice of words was ‘very offensive’

Friday 1 July 2022 11:20 , Kieran Jackson

Three-time world champion Nelson Piquet was widely condemned earlier this week for using racial language to describe Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton in an interview - he has since apologised and says his comments were mistranslated.

Piquet is the father of Max Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly Piquet and the Red Bull driver - who has “spent time” with the Brazilian - says the 69-year-old did not mean to use a racial slur.

“Everyone is against racism - I think it’s very straight, there’s nothing more you can make of that,” Verstappen said, ahead of the British Grand Prix.

“I think the wording which was used, even though of course with different kinds of cultures and things probably they said when they were little and younger, was not correct. Let it be a lesson for the future not to use that word because it’s very offensive and especially nowadays it gains even more traction.”

Max Verstappen believes Nelson Piquet is not a racist

Toto Wolff warns that Lewis Hamilton ‘becomes unbeatable’ when adversity strikes

Friday 1 July 2022 11:05 , Kieran Jackson

The grid may need to watch out this weekend...

Lewis Hamilton will thrive on the adversity of Formula One’s racism storm by becoming “unbeatable” at this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said.

Wolff also demanded the sport’s bosses, and rival teams join Mercedes in “putting your money where your mouth is” to combat racism. The build-up to Hamilton’s home race has been overshadowed by the emergence of a racist slur used by triple world champion Nelson Piquet against the British driver.

Piquet, 69, has since apologised but claimed the offensive word was mistranslated.

But Wolff said: “Lewis thrives on adversity and when things are being thrown at him, that is when he becomes unbeatable. The racist comments that have been made is not something he would consider as from credible voices.

Toto Wolff warns that Lewis Hamilton ‘becomes unbeatable’ when adversity strikes

Friday 1 July 2022 10:50 , Kieran Jackson

F1 practice live

Two weeks without any racing - it’s too long isn’t it!

Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s practice sessions at the British Grand Prix from Silverstone. Here are today’s timings:

- Free Practice 1: 1pm

- Free Practice 2: 4pm

Stay right here for all the build-up as round 10 of the 2022 Formula 1 season starts today!