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Reigning world champion Max Verstappen had a good day out at Silverstone during the free practice sessions on Friday. Especially the second session where the Dutchman clocked the best lap time, placing his car ahead of Carlos Sainz by 22 thousandths of a second.
The two-time world champion ended the session with a confident smile, aware of having good control over his car that has shown excellent potential on dry laps and long runs. This is a real hunting ground for the beast of an RB19.
In the words of Verstappen, speaking about his free practice sessions at Motorsports.com:
"I think it was a good day for us. I think it was all a bit slippery at the beginning, but also I think it's also due to the fact that we are running with very high [tyre] pressures."
Commenting further, he said:
"Of course, it's the same for everyone, but it makes it a little more difficult in low-speed cornering. But, overall, the car performed very well, I'm happy with it, the performance was good in both sessions, we completed our program, the long runs are also positive."
When asked about the third free practice session, he said:
"We'll see tomorrow with the weather. For our part, we want to improve the car a little bit, but overall it was a very positive day."
Max tweeted about his good day at the sessions:
Predictions of Max Verstappen's performance at Silverstone in the 2023 British GP
Though Max Verstappen has had a good start to the British GP, it can't be ignored that teams like Ferrari and, surprisingly, even Williams Racing have started to climb the ranks.
Given that Carlos Sainz has been performing well and finishing in points, as well as winning the Sprint in the Red Bull Circle, the old rivals are likely to lock horns yet again. That is, if Sainz is able to hold his fort.
A surprising contention is by Verstappen's ex-teammate and present Williams Racing driver Alex Albon. He has been in the top 3 for both practice sessions and has shown steady growth throughout the season.
It would be interesting to see if Albon is able to maintain his stint and maybe even attempt to compete with the indomitable Max Verstappen (very unlikely, but he could try).
Other drivers in form like Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton can also prove to be a threat to Verstappen's P1.
