Lewis Hamilton fastest but Vettel & Ferrari may hold the advantage after British GP practice

Lewis Hamilton may have set the fastest time of the day, but it's Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel that will be most satisfied with their performance after Friday practice at the British Grand Prix.Under sunny skies at Silverstone, the world champion posted a 1m27.487s in the morning session, but, as temperatures rose in the afternoon, it was the current championship leader that moved to the top of the timesheets, albeit a tenth slower than the Mercedes' overall best.What does that suggest? Well, traditionally, the Scuderia does have the better car when the temperatures are high and with the weather only set to get warmer on Saturday and Sunday, it would appear to be negating the advantage the German manufacturer showed in Practice 1.Hamilton was within two-tenths of Vettel in the afternoon, but his best came on his third flying lap when, yes the tyres would be less grippy but also there would be less fuel.Valtteri Bottas, who has taken two new engine components, an internal combustion engine and an MGU-K, as a precaution after his problem in Austria, was 0.357s back in third.As Kimi Raikkonen ensured the top four remained with half a second in P4, on a circuit that does traditionally suit the 2007 world champion.

Misery at Red Bull

It was a tale of two garages at Red Bull with Daniel Ricciardo completing a full program albeit almost seven-tenths off the best time set on Friday.

The Australian did have a few edgy moments including a run through the gravel at Luffield and kicked up some dirt at Chapel but that was nothing compared to the trials of his teammate Max Verstappen.

Last weekend's winner in Spielberg would see his morning ended slightly prematurely with a gearbox problem, requiring a change over the lunch break.

But then a crash on his first lap of the afternoon, spinning into the barrier at Luffield after collecting an initial slide, would end the 20-year-old's day much earlier than planned.

More broadly, it is the race pace of the RB14 which is normally its strongest suit but based on Friday at least, there is plenty of work to be done if Red Bull want to claim victory at their back-to-back home races.

Silverstone's do-or-die DRS

One of the big stories before Friday was the impact of a third DRS zone that has been added for this weekend which creates the possibility for drivers to take Turns 1 and 2 flat-out with the rear wing open.

The question was which drivers would be brave enough to try it and in the morning, Verstappen managed to do so quite comfortably.

However, a crash for Romain Grosjean at Abbey, having failed to close his rear wing in time, caused most drivers to use the method of manually shutting the DRS before the corner, continuing flat-out, before re-opening again on the exit and through Farm.

McLaren leading the midfield?

On a week that has seen yet more headlines for McLaren, after racing director Eric Boullier resigned, it was time to get back on track and potentially a reason for optimism for Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard was sixth fastest in the afternoon and matched the time set by Grosjean in the morning which saw the Haas driver finish as the top midfield runner despite having missed the second practice due to his crash.

Single lap pace has been a problem for the Woking-based team this season, however, so maintaining that place will be much easier said than done.

Regardless, a very close battle is brewing for the final top 10 places with just over half a second covering Alonso in P6 to Pierre Gasly in 13th.

The group consisted of both Renault's and both Force India's, as the latter enjoyed a more competitive practice, with the Sauber of Charles Leclerc and the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen also included.

Leclerc's pace is once again particularly impressive on a higher downforce circuit like Silverstone, with the Monegasque almost half a second clear of teammate Marcus Ericsson in 14th, despite a few mistakes including a spin at Luffield.

Towards the back, the two Williams would not be bottom of the timesheets with Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirtokin 15th and 16th.

They would beat Alonso's teammate Stoffel Vandoorne and the Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley with the Kiwi slowest of all after Verstappen and Grosjean did not set a time.

The full results of both practice sessions can be seen below:

Can Vettel really spoil the party?

Returning to the front to conclude and the question now is, despite all the predictions of an easy victory for Lewis Hamilton, can Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari end the Briton's run of four straight wins at Silverstone?

The answer does appear to be yes, with the German's pace on Friday uncharacteristically quick for a practice day and Mercedes struggling looking a little uneasy, particularly in the slower speed sections.

It's obviously too early to rule out another home win for the local favourite, but the path to it does appear a lot tougher and all of it is thanks to the unusual British weather.