Hamilton shines at Silverstone

LEWIS Hamilton took second place in practice for the British Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion, who has been at the centre of Formula One’s racism row which has dominated the build-up to this weekend’s event, finished just 0.163 seconds behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Lando Norris third for McLaren.

Hamilton’s encouraging lap in front of his home crowd comes just days after it emerged triple world champion Nelson Piquet had aimed a racist slur at the British driver in a podcast recorded last November.

Piquet apologised to Hamilton – insisting the offensive term was mistranslated.

But fresh footage emerged yesterday, from a separate interview, in which the Brazilian used homophobic language when speaking about Hamilton. The 69-year-old has been banned from the paddock.

On track, Hamilton’s Mercedes team have arrived at Silverstone armed with their third major upgrade of the year.

A new suspension, rear wing, floor and sidepods have been strapped on to the Silver Arrows in a bid to rescue their season, and the early signs are encouraging.

“It has been a good day,” said Hamilton.

“The car is still bouncing – not necessarily in a straight line, but through the corners it is pretty harsh. But this track is much smoother which is better for us, and a bit like Barcelona in that sense.

“This is the best circuit. It is still hairraising and just epic to drive.

“The fans give me hope. I am so appreciative for all the support and we are going to work as hard as we can to give them a good result.”

Lewis Hamilton