FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - July 4, 2024 McLaren's Lando Norris ahead of the British Grand Prix REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -McLaren's Lando Norris fired up the fans by starting his home British Grand Prix weekend in style on Friday, top of both practice sessions at Silverstone with teammate Oscar Piastri close behind.
The pair finished one-two on the timesheets in an uneventful second practice, with rain falling towards the end, after being first and third respectively in the opening session.
"We have made good progress. We are tight and even with Mercedes. They seemed just as quick as us but they didn’t turn up the engine. We are in a good place but we have more to find," said Norris.
"I wish the weather was better than it is but at least the rain held off for most of the day."
Red Bull's runaway championship leader Max Verstappen was fourth, but the fastest driver on the slower medium tyres, and seventh respectively.
Norris set a best time of one minute 27.420 seconds on softs in the first session, 0.134 faster than Aston Martin's Lance Stroll who had an upgraded front wing.
The Briton then put down a lap of 1:26.549 in the second.
Piastri, who had an hydraulics problem in the early afternoon, was 0.331 slower in the later session with Red Bull's Sergio Perez third.
Verstappen is 81 points clear of closest rival Norris after 11 of 24 races, with the pair fighting an increasingly tight battle on the track that belies the gulf in points.
"I think we shouldn't look too much at the classification of the two sessions, especially the second one because some drivers like Max went on soft tyres and low fuel early on," said McLaren boss Andrea Stella, mindful of the track evolving.
"We went on with a more normal timing, so did our laps a bit later. Definitely there are some encouraging indications from both sessions in terms of pace on a single lap and the longer runs."
Mercedes' George Russell, gifted the win in Austria last weekend after Norris and Verstappen collided while fighting for the lead, was fifth and 10th respectively.
Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, winner a record eight times in Britain, was seventh and sixth.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth in practice two and Carlos Sainz, winner at Silverstone in 2022, eighth.
The first session was halted early on when RB's Yuki Tsunoda had a slow-speed spin into the gravel.
Argentine Franco Colapinto (Williams), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Jack Doohan (Alpine) took part in first practice as young drivers building up their F1 experience.
Bearman, announced on Thursday as a 2025 Haas driver, was fastest of the F2 group in 14th with Doohan 17th, Colapinto 18th and Hadjar 20th.
Norris had to brake hurriedly to avoid hitting the back of Hadjar's dawdling car at the end of the session. Stewards gave the Frenchman a warning.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Alison Williams and Toby Davis)
