Verstappen and Perez the fastest, Leclerc fifth – Corriere.it

The tracks change but he is always the man to beat. Max Verstappen takes the lead in the first free practice of the British GP at Silverstone. The Dutchman first annihilated the competition with a devastating lap on the harder tyres, then mounted the soft ones for the qualifying simulations to stay on top ahead of his teammate, Perez who seems much more on the ball.

The new Pirellis made their debut in England, Mario Isola explains why it was necessary to change during the current season: In Melbourne we realized that the performance of the cars had already reached the levels we had predicted for the end of the year. We were developing the 2024 tires, they had materials available so we talked about it with the FIA ​​to anticipate some solutions. The Milanese company is participating in the tender for the supply for the next three years, challenging the competition from Bridgestone.

Silverstone is a highly anticipated testing ground to confirm Ferrari’s progress, with Leclerc’s return to the podium at the Red Bull Ring. There is also Matthias Binotto, a guest of Formula 1, thrilled to be back in the paddock. Twelve months ago he was here in charge of the Scuderia when Sainz won. difficult to evaluate the red in this first session where he dedicated time to understanding the car. Leclerc finished fifth with a gap of 680 thousandths from Verstappen, many. But very close to Alonso and Albon who probably ran on low fuel with the Williams. As for Sainz, the Spanish seventh behind Ocon. Mercedes very far away, with Hamilton twelfth and Russell 14th. Toto Wolff’s team is testing aerodynamic innovations, a new front wing. McLaren did well, placing both Norris and Piastri in the top 10.