On the back of his victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, Lando Norris set the benchmark time on the opening day at the Silberstone round, albeit Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton displayed fine form with their upgraded Ferrari. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers what teams and drivers had to say after the opening day at Silverstone.

McLaren

Oscar Piastri - FP1: 1:27.042, P3; FP2: 1:26.286, P4
“It’s been a decent Friday. We’ve got a little bit to tidy up, but overall, the pace is good, so it’s been a pretty positive first day. Our competitors look close this weekend, so let’s wait and see. It’s been nice to be back out on track in front of such a great crowd.”

Lando Norris - FP1: 1:26.915, P2; FP2: 1:25.816, P1
“Tricky conditions today. It wasn't quite as easy as we would have liked, but we look strong. It’s only Friday, so there’s nothing to be too proud of just yet, and we’ve definitely got work to do overnight if we want to stay in this position. The competition looks very strong, and they’ll get stronger as the weekend goes on. We’ll get our heads down tonight and turn our focus to Qualifying tomorrow.”

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc - FP1: 1:27.095, P4; FP2: 1:26.038, P2
"Today went quite well, the feeling in the cockpit was good, but we still have some work to do on the car. In our qualifying trim, we still seem to be a bit on the back foot, while we are more at ease with our race pace. I really enjoy driving on this track and I look forward to tomorrow."

Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:26.892, P1; FP2: 1:26.117, P3
"It’s been a really exciting day. Pretty incredible to be out on track at Silverstone in a Ferrari for the first time. The car felt good in both sessions, even though I hit some traffic on my fastest lap in FP2, so there’s definitely time to find.

"It’s always amazing to be back here. This is the greatest circuit in the world and definitely my favourite. Great to see so many people already here on a Friday. The atmosphere is just incredible."

Mercedes

"It’s been a warm day here at Silverstone, with track temperatures upwards of 40°C. That made it a challenge to look after the tyres; it is frustrating that we are affected by the weather as much as we are, but we’re all focused on improving that, particularly as we head into summer months where this will be the norm.

"If the forecast cooler conditions do appear over the rest of the weekend, that will likely help us.We won’t just sit here hoping that is the case though. We will work hard overnight to make improvements and give ourselves the best race car for Saturday and Sunday

"I love being here at Silverstone, I love seeing all the fans, and I am hopeful that we can still get ourselves into the fight at the front, put on a good show for them, and give them something to cheer about."

"Today was not the easiest Friday of the year we’ve had so far. The temperature was quite a bit higher than expected and that made looking after the tyres slightly more challenging. That said, the car felt decent, and I was happy with the overall balance. Silverstone is a great track, and I enjoyed being out there, exploring the limits, and pushing the car.

"There are clear areas for us to work on this evening, and for me to improve in my driving, so I’m excited to see what improvements we can make overnight.

"Tomorrow is forecast to be slightly cooler which should help us. We should have some cloud cover too which may help keep the track temperature lower.

"If we can make gains this evening, then our goal is still to get ourselves into the fight with those who looked strong today, such as McLaren and Ferrari. Let’s see what we can do."

Red Bull

Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:27.432, P10; FP2: 1:26.314, P5
“For me personally, today wasn’t a great day and it was difficult to find much balance in the car and in the corners. The wind affects things quite a lot but that, of course, is not an excuse as you just have to deal with it.

"It is not easy, but it is the same situation for everyone. Every weekend is a bit different and you have to adapt to the changing conditions and scenarios but our car does seem pretty sensitive to the wind this week.

"Looking to tomorrow, we can analyse our data and try and look at what we can do to improve, but I think overall we have just been lacking a bit of performance.”

“The car feels ok, there is still lots of work to do for tomorrow, but I am enjoying Silverstone. Last weekend the car felt good and was one of the best feelings I had had in the car until the race and the pace was getting there so it’s about fine tuning now.

"There are a couple of differences across the two cars and some comparisons, so let’s see how we can adapt to put it all together for the rest of the weekend. The cooler temperatures might help us tomorrow, it won’t be easy but at least it seems like the weather won’t be up and down, but you never know in the UK!

"I have only had one free practice session, but I already know a couple of things I could improve in my driving and set-up, we just have to optimise it now.”

Racing Bulls

“It was a good start to the weekend today here in Silverstone. We were quite fast in both FP1 and FP2 and we were also able to make a few car changes between sessions that paid off, so it looks like we maximized what we had to.

"With high track temperature, it seemed like the C3 was quite close to the C4, which is interesting, but tomorrow is expected to have a lower track temperature, so I think the soft tyres will be a better choice. In terms of long runs, Liam and I split the cars, as he was on mediums and I was on softs, which is a good trial to understand what is worth more.

"Overall, though, it was a bit of a lottery out there due to the wind. We looked quite stable, even if you never know what to expect when facing a corner, whether gaining or losing time, but it’s the same for everyone, and we adapt.”

“It’s a solid start to the weekend, it’s been very close on track, similar to last weekend. We need to keep chasing just like everyone else, but it’s a good starting place. We’ve been making small changes between sessions and fine-tuning the setup. The wind is really gusty right now and it’s throwing off the balance, but the car feels incredibly quick.

"It’s my first time driving here in a Formula One car, and it’s an amazing experience. Hopefully, we can have another strong practice session and put ourselves in a good position to fight for Q3 tomorrow."

Aston Martin

"It's difficult to read where we are after today's Practice. In FP1 it didn't look too different between the two packages, but let's see if we learnt something more from FP2 as we tried some different things with the set-up.

"It was a very typical Friday around Silverstone with how windy it was. There are a lot of things to analyse, but it was a clean day and let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:27.844, P12; FP2: 1:26.430, P7
"Silverstone is a great track and I always love coming back here. It's a special race for the team, as we're just steps away from the factory. The support we get here every year and the energy around the weekend are special.

"I've got some good laps in today during FP2 and the car felt decent, but it's early days so we'll go through the data. We'll see what we can work on tonight and come back tomorrow."

Williams

"It was very windy and generally tricky out there today. Not quite the pace we wanted, but we need to figure out how to make the car more driveable and come back stronger tomorrow.

"It's always tricky with wind because you are facing oversteer and understeer at every corner and, being so exposed at Silverstone, it's hard to know where to pitch the car because no corner feels good; it's just trying to find the most consistent balance throughout the lap. We made some good changes ahead of FP2, and I think we're heading in the right direction for Qualifying tomorrow."

"A tough day with windy conditions. It made it tricky to be consistent throughout the session, but we managed to complete a full programme focused on improving our reliability issues.

"We collected some good data which will hopefully allow us to focus more on performance in FP3. It will be interesting to see how the weather impacts us with cooler temperatures and high winds, so I’m looking forward to what Qualifying brings tomorrow."

Kick Sauber

"It was quite an unusual Friday for me, getting a feel both inside and outside the car. The conditions were very windy and gusty—it didn’t feel fantastic, but it was the same for everyone. I was quite happy with the feeling I had straight away in FP2. All things considered, it was a solid session and a good foundation for us to build on. Now it’s heads down, full focus, and time to keep pushing."

“Today was a positive day overall. We focused on understanding the balance of the car, and I was pleased with the direction we’re heading. Driving at Silverstone in a Formula One car is so enjoyable – it's such a rewarding track. That said, the conditions made things quite challenging.

"The wind gusts were strong and unpredictable, with a lot of tailwind in several sections, which made it tough to get the car properly settled. We’ll spend the evening fine-tuning a few areas to improve the setup, and we’ll look at what we can do better for tomorrow.”

Haas

Esteban Ocon – FP1: 1:28.057, P15; FP2: 1:26.941, P14
“It was an interesting day out there. We’ve changed the car quite a bit, we’ve got some new parts, so it was about trying to understand it and optimise the day. It was quite windy out there so difficult to read into things, and it might be very different again tomorrow. We need to try and find a bit more performance but it’s only Friday – it doesn’t tell the whole picture. Let’s see if we can squeeze a bit more out of it.”

Oliver Bearman - FP1: 1:28.147, P18; FP2: 1:27.226, P19

“Esteban had the new package on this morning, and it performed as we expected, so this afternoon we also put it on. With the changes that made to car balance, I just don’t think we were up to speed because I had quite a lot of understeer out there.

I think it’s a good sign though, it shows the change we made is doing the correct thing, but we need to make a few adjustments now to account for that and balance the car. Rain is on our radar and could change things, it’s always a feature of this weekend, but generally our Saturday pace is always a bit better than Friday so I hope with a few tweaks we can be fighting up there tomorrow

"Even if it’s been a challenging day, I’ve been in high spirits with a beaming smile – it's a pleasure to drive this track firstly, but to have the fans supporting like they do is a very special feeling.”

Alpine

Pierre Gasly - FP1: 1:28.332, P19; FP2: 1:27.174, P18
“It has been a very difficult Friday for us. As a team we will work hard together as we have some things we need to fix and we need to find some solutions to unlock more performance. We have a clear idea of where we are struggling, mainly in the high speed and lacking grip.

It does not feel like anything we have had all season but I know we will dig through it all and aim to find the fixes. We are aiming for a better day tomorrow and I know we can do that with our eyes firmly focused on Qualifying as well as we can.”

“It was not the easiest of days on track today and we need to find a way to extract more performance from the car. Generally, it was a better Friday for me than in previous races and the car itself is looking okay at this stage, it is just the consistency we are lacking.

"It felt strong in some parts of the lap and worse in others, which is a bit of a recurring theme so far in terms of the driveability. I am sure we can find some solutions to make it better at this track and in these type of conditions, but we know that can also change quickly here across the weekend.”