Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes struggle as British Grand Prix gets Hollywood sprinkling

An upgraded Mercedes car failed to produce on track in Friday practice on a weekend where there is as much intrigue with Brad Pitt’s new F1 film as there is with the on-track action

On a Silverstone weekend where the presence of Brad Pitt and the Apple Studios crew is the talk of the town, the as-yet-untitled Formula One film’s executive producer – the sport’s very own A-lister – struggled at his spiritual home on Friday.

Lewis Hamilton remains without a win in 19 months since Saudi Arabia in the penultimate round of the 2021 season. Last year, a thrilling British Grand Prix won by Carlos Sainz saw the eight-time winner come close, but the 38-year-old remains on an unprecedented winless streak.

This weekend, despite Mercedes bringing an upgraded front wing, the practice pace simply wasn’t there for Hamilton or his teammate George Russell. In both sessions, both drivers finished outside the top 10.

“It’s a tough car to drive,” stated a brutally honest and demoralised Hamilton. “On a single lap, I didn’t feel any improvement between tyres which shows something is wrong. So we’re missing something. It didn’t feel particularly great.

“Me and George were just talking and we’re at different sides with the set-up – we’ll try and do something tonight and hopefully we’ll come up with something for tomorrow.”

As for the man on top, no surprises there. Max Verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions under the sprinkling Northamptonshire sun and will be eager to correct a British Grand Prix hoodoo: in eight races, the Dutchman is yet to stand on top of the podium. He did, however, win the one-off 70th-anniversary grand prix at Silverstone during the Covid-impacted 2020 season.

“Overall, it’s been a strong day again,” Verstappen said, not for the first or last time in 2023. “The car has been performing really well, pretty positive.”

Lewis Hamilton admitted his Mercedes remains a ‘tough car to drive’ (Getty)

Instead of the regularity of Red Bull’s dominance, the main feel-good story on Friday was Williams’ surprise pace, predominantly from the rejuvenated Alex Albon.

Slowly but surely creeping up the leaderboard under the leadership of former Mercedes strategist James Vowles, Williams had a day to remember while sporting a special livery to celebrate their upcoming 800th grand prix.

Albon was third-fastest in both practice sessions, with American rookie teammate Logan Sargeant joining him in the top five in the afternoon.

Alex Albon impressed for Williams in practice on Friday (Getty)

Rain is forecasted in and around qualifying on Saturday, which could provide a smidgeon of unpredictability in what has been a predictable order of events in the past few months, with Red Bull’s and in particular Verstappen’s all-out domination.

Instead, a record 480,00 crowd at Silverstone this weekend – up by 79,000 from 2022 – will find intrigue in the early production scenes of the highly anticipated feature film, with Pitt the star attraction.

The fictional “Apex” team are filming scenes in and around the paddock and using impressively modified F2 cars on track with stunt drivers. There are even plans for scenes to be rapidly shot on the grid ahead of Sunday’s grand prix.

The fictional ‘Apex’ team are filming on track this weekend (Scott Garfield,/Apple Studios/Formula One)

Such is Verstappen’s supremacy, the pre-race shenanigans could represent the most entertainment on Sunday ahead of a British Grand Prix whose victor has never felt quite so inevitable.

There is also, understandably, wariness of another Just Stop Oil protest, after their actions at Wimbledon this week and at various sporting events this summer, with F1 and Northamptonshire Police on high alert and making extra provisions to ensure all the action goes ahead without interruption.