Engineer: "Lando, Just a heads up, this could be like a winter Barcelona 10am level of grip."

Cars have made their way out on to the iconic Silverstone circuit.

Everyone apart from George Russell, Zhou Guanyu and Isack Hadjar are out on track.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

This race marks the midway point of a very, very long season; so we've got a whole load more racing to come and I cannot wait because not only is the competition close, it's intense.

There is a little taste for Lando Norris and McLaren of success. Whether it's championship success? Who knows. Only time will tell.

But the battle is on.

It's time for the first practice session at Silverstone!

Four rookie drivers taking part in FP1, let's see how everyone gets on.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

New floor for Red Bull this weekend; front and rear wings and corners for Mercedes; rear wing, engine cover and three beam wing options for McLaren; front wing and rear corner for Aston Martin; extensive changes - floor, sidepod inlet, engine cover, mirror for Sauber.

Image source, Getty Images

There are plenty of rookie drivers taking part in first practice at Silverstone today.

Fresh from signing his new contract with Haas, Oliver Bearman will be behind the wheel for the American-based team in place of Kevin Magnussen.

Red Bull are giving junior driver Isack Hadjar some time on track, with 19-year-old French-Algerian driver sitting in for Sergio Perez.

Over at Williams, Argentine Franco Colapinto will be making his F1 debut and driving Logan Sargeant's car, while Jack Doohan is back again for Alpine taking over from Pierre Gasly.

Light clouds is the forecast for Friday, with heavy rain looming in the evening.

Saturday is forecasted to have light rain while light showers are forecasted for Sunday’s race.

A moderate breeze will be present across the weekend.

Fans are out in their forces, come rain or shine, with their waterproof ponchos and handmade signs.

But, what is the weather forecast for the British Grand Prix weekend?

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sounds

There’s now a brand new way you can enjoy our F1 coverage, via most smart speakers.

All you need to do is ask BBC Sounds to play the weekend’s Grand Prix followed by the session.

So, to listen to the current session just ask BBC Sounds to play British Grand Prix practice one.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

On Thursday, Oliver Bearman’s proud father David watched his son’s first news conference as an official Haas race driver following the announcement of the Briton’s promotion to F1 for 2025 and beyond.

Image source, Andrew Benson

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Silverstone

Image source, Getty Images

Oliver Bearman will become the fourth British driver on the Formula 1 grid next season after signing to race for the US-based Haas team.

The 19-year-old, who impressed in finishing seventh on his F1 debut for Ferrari at this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, has signed what Haas calls a “multi-year contract”.

“It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me," said Bearman, who took his maiden Formula 2 victory in Austria last weekend.

“To say out loud that I will be an F1 driver for Haas makes me so immensely proud.

“To be one of the very few people who get to do the thing that they dreamed of as a child is something truly incredible.”

Now, time for some driver contract news for 2025...

Red Bull continue to extend their lead, with 355 points. Ferrari are just 64 points behind the current leaders, could they catch up?

Ferrari need to keep an eye on their rear-view mirror, as McLaren, who are on a run of positive form, chase them with just 23 points between them.

Mercedes also continue moving up in points, although they are quite far behind third placed McLaren.

Meanwhile, Haas bump Alpine to move into seventh slot, after drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg picked up points last time round.

Lando Norris, despite his DNF in Austria, remains in second, with 81 points between him and championship leader Max Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc continues his race to get back into the second spot, he sits 6 points behind Norris.

The battle for forth spot is heating up, after George Russell's win, he now has 111 points, one behind sixth Oscar Piastri and seven points behind Sergio Perez, who is currently fourth.

Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda failed to pick up points last time but remain nine and 10.

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix after a collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris while they were fighting for the lead.

Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Norris after he moved over on the McLaren driver while Norris was trying to pass. The Briton was forced into retirement.

Russell was under pressure from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the final laps but was able to maintain his winning advantage.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the final podium position ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton,

Verstappen won the sprint race on Saturday.

Hello folks. Welcome to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.

It’s the final part of the European triple-header and the 12th race of the 2024 calendar.

First practice gets under way at 12:30 BST.

Second practice goes green at 16:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

Commentary of both sessions will be available at the top of this live page.

For today’s coverage, we welcome Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin, former F1 mechanic Marc Priestley, British racing driver Sam Bird and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.