|
The six-times world champion, chasing a fourth
win in a row on Sunday to stretch his 30-point lead over the
Finn, lapped with a fastest time of one minute 25.606 seconds
using medium tyres on a hot but cloudy afternoon.
Bottas, who had been fastest in the day's first session at
Silverstone as drivers got to grips with Pirelli's softer tyres,
was 0.176 slower.
Hamilton won last Sunday's British Grand Prix at the same
circuit from pole position and despite a last lap puncture.
"I think it's been generally a good day. We had understanding,
good findings from last week and I think made some small
adjustments which have cut off a millisecond here and there,"
said Hamilton.
"So it's been positive in general. The tyres have been very soft
but they're fine."
With 87 career wins, the Briton is closing in fast on Ferrari
great Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 91 set between
1992 and 2006.
He could also become the first driver to take back-to-back wins
at his home race, with Silverstone hosting two in a single
season for the first time.
"I see it as an opportunity but Valtteri's going to be strong
this weekend," said Hamilton. "You saw it in the last week that
anything can happen, particularly in the last lap.
"But of course that would be an incredible accomplishment for us
as a team."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was best of the rest in the morning,
0.727 off the pace, and Renault's Australian Daniel Ricciardo
filled that slot in the afternoon with the Dutch youngster
fourth.
"The gap to Mercedes last weekend was big, so of course I think
it’s quite normal that we can’t magically change things within a
few days, but we are doing what we can," said Verstappen.
Racing Point, fined and with 15 points deducted after stewards
upheld a Renault protest, looked quick with Lance Stroll ending
the day fifth and experienced German stand-in Nico Hulkenberg
sixth.
Hulkenberg, replacing Sergio Perez after the Mexican contracted
COVID-19 and then tested positive for a second time, was fourth
in the opening session.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth and seventh fastest
respectively but team mate Sebastian Vettel suffered an engine
failure in the afternoon and ended up 14th.
The title of Sunday's race commemorates the first world
championship grand prix which was hosted by Silverstone in May,
1950.
Mercedes have a horseshoe symbol on their cars in honour of the
late Stirling Moss, who raced with the emblem in the early years
of his career. Moss competed at Silverstone in 1950 in a Formula
Three race.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by John Stonestreet,
Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
