Hamilton showed strong pace across the entire 60-minute session, consistently going fastest before ending on top with a time of 1:26.892 — just 0.023s ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

It was the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race that Hamilton had topped a session for Ferrari, as the reigning British GP winner looks to add to his incredible record at his home race — where he has taken nine victories and finished on the podium in 14 of his 18 appearances at Silverstone, including each of the last 11.

Adding to Ferrari’s promising pace, Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc was fourth, just 0.203s off Hamilton’s best time.

McLaren once again showcased its speed, with Norris spending much of the session narrowly behind teammate Oscar Piastri. Norris was able to just pip the Aussie at the end, with Piastri finishing third, 0.150s behind Hamilton.

George Russell was the fastest Mercedes driver in fifth, ahead of Isack Hadjar for Racing Bulls. Hadjar, alongside teammate Liam Lawson, showed strong pace during the session — with both drivers topping the timesheets at the halfway point and finishing ahead of the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Arvid Lindblad, who were 10th and 14th respectively.

Lindblad was one of two rookie drivers taking part in the session, with the British driver getting his first taste of an F1 weekend in front of his home fans. He also became only the second driver in the sport’s history to participate in a Grand Prix weekend while under the age of 18 — the first being Max Verstappen.

Estonian driver Paul Aron was the other rookie in action, finishing 17th for Sauber — three spots ahead of regular teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.

The Brazilian was one of several drivers to have a spin at Copse, alongside Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll.

Bortoleto’s was by far the most dramatic, spinning nearly three full times before recovering with severely flat-spotted Pirellis.

Alex Albon finished seventh for Williams, ahead of Lawson, while Kimi Antonelli was ninth — just ahead of Verstappen — with the top ten separated by only 0.540s.

Second practice gets underway at 4pm local time (1am AEST).