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The first day of
Silverstone with the 2017 generation of cars, featuring extra downforce and
wider tyres, resulted in performance never seen before at the current
Silverstone circuit, with cars, drivers and tyres subjected to maximum
lateral loads of more than 5g and speeds well over 280kph through Copse
Corner.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas ensured that the P Zero Red supersoft set
fastest time in FP2 on its Silverstone race debut, beating the fastest lap
of the weekend last year (set in Q2) by more than 0.7 seconds.
The teams selected a number of quite different tyre choices heading into
this event, so the programme today – assessing wear and degradation on each
compound with differing fuel loads – was vital in working out which tyres
they wanted to give back, as per the current regulations, and which to keep
for qualifying and the race.
Conditions remained cool and overcast, with ambient temperatures never
exceeding 18 degrees centigrade and asphalt in the region of 24 degrees
centigrade. Weather of this type is expected to remain for the rest of the
weekend, with rain possible as well.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“Although the teams chose some quite different allocations of tyres before
the race, as they all discard certain sets in accordance with the
regulations, it's likely that they will end up with selections that are
quite similar for qualifying and the race. One thing we have definitely seen
already is that the speeds and therefore loads on the tyres are
unprecedented this year. This is exactly as we would expect from all the
high-energy tracks this season, because of the increased downforce and wider
tyres. Despite these extra demands, the supersoft made its very first grand
prix weekend appearance at Silverstone and set the record-breaking time with
Bottas. So far, this compound is around 0.7 seconds per lap faster than the
soft. If the weather remains dry tomorrow – which is definitely a question
mark – we can expect the benchmark to be lowered even futher in qualifying.” |
FREE PRACTICE 1 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Bottas 1m29.106s SOFT NEW
Hamilton 1m29.184s SOFT USED
Verstappen 1m29.604s SUPERSOFT NEW
FREE PRACTICE 2 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER TIME COMPOUND
Bottas 1m28.496s SUPERSOFT NEW
Hamilton 1m28.543s SOFT NEW
Raikkonen 1m28.828s SUPERSOFT NEW
FP1 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
MEDIUM Perez 1m32.023s
SOFT Bottas 1m29.106s
SUPERSOFT Verstappen 1m29.604s
FP2 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND DRIVER TIME
MEDIUM Bottas 1m30.285s
SOFT Hamilton 1m28.543s
SUPERSOFT Bottas 1m28.496s
MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND DRIVER LAPS
MEDIUM Ocon 20
SOFT Stroll 27
SUPERSOFT Sainz 24
TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
MEDIUM SOFT SUPER SOFT
Kms driven* 488 3322 2950
Sets used overall** 16 39 36
* The above number gives the total amount of kilometres
driven in FP1 and FP2 today, all drivers combined.
** Per compound, all drivers combined.
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