2023-07-07 12:39:11
Practice 1 of the British GP began with the dominance of Red Bull and a time of just over 1:30 from Max Verstappen, while Checo Pérez came out with some sensor grids to evaluate the improvements introduced by the leading team of the Formula 1.
Checo Pérez with sensor grids
The Mexican was unable to get the most out of the RB19 in the first laps of the session, as he was riding with sensor grids to make measurements at constant speed, especially in the wind tunnel behavior.
Checo Pérez also tested the new brake ducts that Red Bull prepared for Silverstone, the only modification that the team reported.
Red Bull’s idea is to have fewer cooling intakes on the brakes in order to have greater aerodynamic efficiency at the British GP, a circuit where speed is constant.
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Ferraris overtake Red Bull
As the first session went by, the Ferraris showed themselves very well and both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc overtook Max Verstappen. The Spaniard was the one who stayed in the first position the longest throughout practice 1.
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With 11 minutes remaining in the first practice, Red Bull got back on track and both Max Verstappen and Checo Pérez unseated the Ferraris from the first two places. The Dutchman was the one who registered the best time in practice 1 and stopped the clock at 1:28:600, a distance of four tenths with respect to the Mexican.
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Changes for Silverstone
At the British GP there will be a new type of tire, which is designed for rougher and more demanding use such as the Silverstone circuit.
“The new specification gives the tire extra resistance to fatigue, although it does not affect any technical parameter or its behavior on the track. All the teams already had the opportunity to test this new tire construction at the Spanish Grand Prix, when two sets were made available to each driver in free practice,” explained Mario Isola, Pirelli’s CEO.
“This debut will take place on a track that is traditionally one of the toughest for tyres; in our internal charts, Silverstone is at the top in terms of stress and lateral forces placed on them, particularly the left striker. The track also demands a lot from the drivers, who have to face lateral accelerations of more than 5g in its fast corners”, concluded Isola.
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