Max Verstappen admits the deficit Red Bull appears to have to the front is of more concern than any repercussions from his crash in practice at the British GP.

The Dutchman endured a difficult day at Silverstone, stopping in the final minutes of first practice with a gearbox problem before spinning out on the exit of Luffield on just his second lap in the afternoon, after being unable to counter a tank-slapper.

Despite losing a critical 90 minutes of running in conditions more representative to what is expected for the rest of the weekend, last weekend's winner in Austria remained upbeat, admitting his mistake.

“I think I wanted to be too quick on the Hard tyre, I just lost it,” Verstappen claimed, with the now blue-marked compound being used for the first time this season.

“Unfortunately the way I hit the wall, it ripped off the right rear. At the end of the day, it is not ideal to lose the second session, but the feeling I had [in the car] before that was pretty good."

The 20-year-old is also confident he can still complete a program which leaves him well-prepared for the race.

“FP3 is still long enough to get [a long run] in, so I’ll get some information from that, and I know I have Daniel [Ricciardo]'s data, so it should be alright," he stated.

“I feel good always around this track, and I felt confident in FP1 already with the harder tyres. The pace is good, but it seems like we are not fighting for pole. We’ll try again tomorrow."

On the speed front, it appears another fifth and sixth in qualifying is the likely outcome based on the performance in practice, which saw Ricciardo over eight-tenths off the leading pace in the afternoon.

For Verstappen though, the reason for the gap is clear.

"We are losing a lot of lap time on the straights," he declared, with that only exaggerated by the number of high-speed corners now taken flat-out.

Lewis Hamilton made the perfect start to his home race weekend by topping the timesheets in Practice 1 at the British Grand Prix.

Under gloriously sunny skies at Silverstone, the world champion posted a 1m27.487s on his second flying lap to beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by a third of a second as the Brackley-based team threw down the gauntlet to their rivals.

Sebastian Vettel was half a second down in third for Ferrari indicating the gap may not be as big as some feared, with the Scuderia known to run lower engine modes and hide most of their pace until Saturday.

Daniel Ricciardo would be a further tenth back in fourth for Red Bull after setting his best on the first flying lap using the Soft compound Pirellis. The Australian's session would be a little scruffy with a trip through the gravel at Luffield after running wide at Chapel.

Kimi Raikkonen would have a spin on the exit of Brooklands en route to fifth as Max Verstappen would opt to run the Medium tyres all session in the second RB14 and finishing sixth. The Dutchman's opening practice would end a few minutes early though after pulling off towards the pit wall on the main straight with a suspected gearbox problem.

One of the stories before the session was whether drivers would attempt to take Abbey, the near flat-out first corner, with the DRS open as a third zone on the pit straight does create the opportunity to do so.

Verstappen was certainly seen doing so early on, while others opted to manually close the rear wing flap on the approach before re-opening on the exit, with that possibility available should they remain at full throttle.

Unsurprisingly, the system would catch one driver out, that being Romain Grosjean who claimed he missed the button on the steering wheel going over a bump before sliding through the gravel and into the barrier.

Still, the Frenchman, who scored his first points of the year last weekend in Austria, was the best midfield runner in seventh, half a second clear of the two Force India's in eighth and ninth with lance Stroll completing the top 10 for Williams.

The two Sauber's ran well with Marcus Ericsson 11th and Charles Leclerc 13th both sandwiching the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly.

Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso were involved in a feisty moment on track early on, with the Dane unhappy that the Spaniard did not fully let him through before Turn 1 and responded by giving the McLaren driver a little squeeze on the Wellington Straight.

They would finish 14th and 15th respectively on the timesheet as Renault lagged down the order with Carlos Sainz 16th and Nico Hulkenberg 18th.

Brendon Hartley was 19th as Sergey Sirotkin completed the order in the second Williams, recovering from a spin into the gravel at Vale early on.

An eventful start to the weekend which also saw many complaining about a very bumpy Silverstone surface despite having been re-tarmacked since last year.

Also, track limits on the exit of Vale could well be looked into with the racing line starting to emerge on the outside of the kerb rather than inside as so many drivers run all four wheels off the track. 

Full results from Practice 1 can be seen below:

Sebastian Vettel suggested Mercedes won't have things their own way at the British Grand Prix after leading second practice on Friday.

As the summer heatwave continues, temperatures rose to unexpected highs at Silverstone and with that lap times actually didn't improve compared to those seen in the morning.

But, Ferrari's strength in hot conditions did shine through as Vettel posted a 1m27.5522, a tenth slower than Lewis Hamilton's morning best but enough to enjoy an almost two-tenths advantage over the world champion, who set his best time at the third attempt on the Soft compound tyres.

The two Finns, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen, maintained third and fourth as the leading quartet was covered by less than half a second, a good omen for the rest of the weekend.

Red Bull appear on the back foot, however, with Daniel Ricciardo over four-tenths behind the second Ferrari in fifth and Max Verstappen's session ending on his second lap as his RB14 tank-slappered on the exit of Luffield and spun the Dutchman into the wall.

The session would have to be red-flagged to clear his car away, with Max later admitting he simply pushed too hard, too early on the Hard tyre, which is making its 2018 debut this weekend.

He would be one of two drivers not to post a time in Practice 2 with Romain Grosjean having to watch on as Haas prepared a new chassis following his crash at Abbey in the morning.

With one of the usual leading midfield drivers in the garage then, Fernando Alonso gave McLaren fans something to cheer in sixth, however, it may have been somewhat of a glory run as the Spaniard was eight-tenths faster than teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, who was only 17th fastest.

Instead, the 'best of the rest' fight looks set to be between Renault, Force India, Haas and maybe even Charles Leclerc as those cars were covered by just over a quarter of a second on Friday afternoon.

Nico Hulkenberg would sit seventh, just ahead of the two 'pink panthers' as Esteban Ocon led teammate Sergio Perez. Leclerc, despite a few more off-track excursions, would complete the top 10 for Sauber with Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen right on his tail.

Pierre Gasly would stop by the side of the track with a mechanical issue around the halfway point in his Toro Rosso, but the Frenchman would still be relatively competitive in 13th.

Marcus Ericsson, perhaps the most unpopular driver at Silverstone on Saturday, was 14th just ahead of the two Williams' of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.

Then came Vandoorne with Brendon Hartley bringing up the times in the second Toro Rosso.

The full results of second practice can be seen below:

As talks to secure the future of the British Grand Prix begins, Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes a race in London remains a goal for Liberty Media.

Last year, the owners of Silverstone, the BRDC, activated a release clause in the 18-year contract they signed with Bernie Ecclestone in 2009, meaning now only two more years on that deal remain.

The reason was purely financial, with chairman John Grant writing a letter this week stating that the goal of new negotiations was to find an arrangement that allowed the circuit to make a profit on a good year and still manage if attendances dropped.

Using a line from the ongoing Brexit talks though, he said "no deal was better than a bad deal" and that "as things stand, 2019 could be the last British GP at Silverstone - or indeed anywhere".

Horner does see a successful conclusion as the most likely one, however.

"Silverstone is the home of British motorsport and it is a great track," he was quoted by F1i.com.

"It appears as though the owners and Liberty are working closely together and talking more positively about engagement with the fans and what they can do to put on a better show.

"There is a desire within Liberty to see a street race in London and in an ideal world we would be fortunate enough to have both - retain the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and have a street race in London," he added.

"From a personal point of view, Silverstone is the national home for the British Grand Prix."

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If a London race wasn't sustainable year-on-year though, the Red Bull chief did have another idea that would just as exciting for F1.

"As we are seeing with their discussions with Miami, they are looking at different types of model for key markets," he said.

"Why not have a race in London one year, a race in Paris one year, and you could come up with great venues.

"Taking F1 to the people has proved to be extremely popular. Some of the best races that we have on the calendar are street races.

"A European Grand Prix, something like that, if the economics could work for Liberty, it would be fantastic."

Valtteri Bottas is running a new Mercedes internal combustion engine and MGU-K at the British GP following his retirement in Austria it was confirmed on Friday.

Having only introduced the Phase 2.1 unit the week before in France, the German manufacturer suffered their first double retirement due to mechanical issues since returning in 2010 at the Red Bull Ring.

A hydraulics problem was deemed the problem for Bottas, with teammate Lewis Hamilton later suffering a fuel pressure issue, but while the Briton is able to continue using the same engine at Silverstone, Mercedes have taken no chances with the Finn.

 “It’s a precautionary measure as PU2 suffered high temps from heat soak after retirement in Austria so might carry some risk," a team spokesman said.

“He [Bottas] is taking a fresh one here then we will run the other one again in Hockenheim to check it properly.”

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The problem now facing Bottas is the likelihood of at least one race with a grid penalty as he is at the limit on most of the elements allowed. With a further upgrade likely after the summer break though, it will be upto Mercedes to decide whether to take the penalty hit.

Mercedes junior and Formula 2 racer George Russell believes the results achieved by Charles Leclerc with Sauber is opening doors for other young drivers to get opportunities.

The Monegasque has scored points in every race except Monaco since Azerbaijan back April and more recently in France became the first driver since Adrian Sutil in 2015 to make Q3 in qualifying with the Swiss team.

Already, there is growing talk a seat at Ferrari beckons for 2019, where he is an Academy member, but having proven future stars are capable of stepping up and performing, the Briton does think that makes F1 teams take note.

“I think times are changing slightly, you have the likes of Verstappen, Ocon and Leclerc going into F1,” Russell was quoted by F1i.com. “These guys can come in and challenge the experienced drivers in the field.

“I think what Charles is doing now is a great example of how competitive some junior series are. He won GP3 and then F2, and I won GP3 last year and [I'm] currently leading F2.

“From my personal selling point of view, let's say, there’s a very good example in Charles to show what he’s capable of and what we’re doing this year.”

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Along with his simulator role at Mercedes, the 20-year-old is also enjoying test outings with Force India and with the significant F1 mileage under his belt albeit mostly virtually, Russell would feel confident enough to step up as soon as this weekend.

“If an opportunity arose with anybody at Silverstone this weekend, I’d feel ready, prepared," he said.

“I know they believe there is potential with me or they wouldn’t have taken me on as a junior driver otherwise. I think they believe in me.

"Now we’re at the highest level of junior motorsport, it’s the best young drivers in the world, it’s definitely putting pressure on the guys who are managing my situation to hopefully find something for me next season.”

Sebastian Vettel has queried whether the decision to add a third DRS zone at Silverstone which also incorporates the first two corners could widen the gap between the top three and the rest.

The zone is seen as the first of its kind to incorporate a stretch of track that may not be easily flat-out for a Formula 1 car and in first practice on Friday, we have already seen the drivers test the limit as to just how possible it was.

For Max Verstappen and Red Bull, it appeared comfortable in the early stages, but a later crash for Romain Grosjean highlights the Ferrari driver's point that potentially only the top three teams could cope.

“It’s a bit tricky, I don’t know if we can do it with DRS open or not," he said on Thursday. “We have to try, with the [new] asphalt, [grippier] tyres and so on.

“If anybody is likely to do it then it’s us, as in the big teams with most of the downforce. So, I don’t know if that was the intention to split the grid even more.

“I’m sure other people have less downforce than us, so they will probably struggle more.”

A scenario that most were opting for in the first session was to manually close the rear wing flap just before the corner, stay flat, and then open again on the exit. Should the driver lift or brake in that time though, the second use of DRS would not be permitted.

Usually Formula 1's good guy, but Daniel Ricciardo has suggested he fancies spoiling the fun at Silverstone and win the British GP for Red Bull this weekend.

The Australian is undergoing a rough stint with no podium finish since his win in Monaco, a second retirement of the season in Austria and has been out-shone by teammate Max Verstappen as well in recent races with the Dutchman now just three points behind.

Though immensely popular everywhere he goes, but recent English success and the thought of preventing more was on the mind of the man from Perth on Thursday.

“I’ve had a podium there but never a win, I might steal it from Lewis [Hamilton],” Ricciardo joked referring to his past results at Silverstone.

“He has a pretty good home record but I’ll try and get one back on the English, they are doing a bit too well in sport at the moment!”

The British track does still have a special place in the 29-year-old's heart though, both for milestones and for the thrill of driving.

“My first ever F1 race was at Silverstone so it’s always a special one for me," he recalled, debuting with HRT in 2011.

"I’ve always loved the circuit – it’s high speed, flowing and beautiful. Copse is flat and then into Maggots and Becketts is just epic, I’m genuinely so excited about this race.

“It also has one of the most loyal and patriotic crowds and the place is rich in motorsport history.

“I had a fun race there last year coming from the back and through the field to fifth, it’s always been a pretty happy hunting ground for me.”

On a week of big changes at McLaren, CEO Zak Brown has given honest expectations that it could upto a decade for the British team to challenge at the front in Formula 1.

A major overhaul of the management team is underway with racing director Eric Boullier opting to resign on Tuesday after four years in the post with former Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran taking over in a tweaked role of sporting boss.

Former Ferrari engineer Andrea Stella was also promoted to performance director and speaking candidly ahead of the British Grand Prix on Thursday, Brown admits McLaren the process of rebuilding has only just begun.

“This is going to take some time to fix,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.

“I think we are years away. I don’t know if that’s two or 10, or somewhere in between. Probably more like somewhere in between, but I don’t want to get into predictions."

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Indeed, it was the setting of incredibly high expectations when the team announced a new engine deal with Renault in 2018 that has made the subsequent performances so underwhelming, even if results have been better than recent years.

“I think we have to be very realistic and honest with ourselves, with our fans, with you [the media], to say that this is going to be a journey. I think everyone needs to recognise that," Brown added.

“I think we had a good finish in the last race relative to where we started, but we were uncompetitive.

“Not much has changed since last race, so I think everyone needs to not starting having too high expectations, ourselves included, at Silverstone, because all that has really happened is five or six days have gone by.”

Fernando Alonso has rejected claims he was involved in the process that saw McLaren fire racing director Eric Boullier this week.

On Wednesday, the British team confirmed the former Lotus boss would resign from his position with immediate effect after a turbulent four years that has seen the ups and downs of Honda and the disappointment of 2018.

Following promotions for Gil de Ferran to sporting director and Andrea Stella to performance director, some had seen some Alonso hallmarks, with Stella having worked closely with the Spaniard previously at Ferrari, but the double world champion insists any input was only advisory.

"I wasn’t consulted, I was informed about all the changes and all the new possibilities," he said ahead of the British GP.

"Obviously I had more experience with Andrea than Zak, who has only known Andrea for one year. He wanted my opinion and how I see also Gil but obviously, he knows Gil for 20 years and I know Gil for one year so he knows much more than me in terms of what possibilities and what scenarios may make Gil come into play.

“I fully trust whatever decision and just moving forward the most important thing is to improve the car and to be more competitive and hopefully from this weekend we’ll see a step forward."

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Talking to Sky Sports about the changes, Brown laid out what he hopes to achieve by introducing the changes.

“I think we need to be a faster, more nimble organisation that communicates better, we’ve got great talent here, it’s just not gelling like it needs to gel," he claimed.

“I think the reason the car’s not performing on the track is we’re not performing well as a team. What I see is we’re too slow to react, I think we need to simplify things within the organisation.

“It’s the start of the process and we’re far from finished,” he concluded.