Charles Leclerc from Ferrari led the last practice session of the British Grand Prix, which ended early due to a red flag.
Leclerc recorded a lap time of 1:25.498, finishing just 0.068 seconds faster than Oscar Piastri, who came in second. Max Verstappen followed closely behind, only 0.019 seconds slower.
Gabriel Bortoleto from Sauber got stuck in the gravel after spinning onto the grass and hitting the apex, which caused his suspension to break and ended his session with only a few minutes left.
Earlier in the session, a red flag was also shown when some body parts from Haas rookie Oliver Bearman’s car ended up on the track, but practice resumed shortly after. Bearman later crashed into the barriers near the pit lane, leaving debris on the track. He told his team over the radio that “cold brakes” caused his crash.
The last stoppage ended any chances for others to beat Leclerc’s time, including Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who finished in 11th place.
Hamilton had been faster than Leclerc in the first two sectors but had to stop his final run when red flags were waved due to debris from Bearman’s crash on the track.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who is 15 points behind Piastri after 11 of the 24 races, secured the fourth fastest time, while Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda came in fifth.
Alex Albon took seventh place for Williams, followed by Mercedes’ George Russell, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, and Lawson, who rounded out the top ten.
Aston Martin announced that neither of their drivers was able to complete a meaningful lap on the quickest soft tire because of the red flags.
Qualifying for Sunday’s race, which will be Hamilton’s first at home in Ferrari colors, is set for later this afternoon.
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and a record nine-time winner of the British GP, won the race last year while driving for Mercedes.
