The big gainers since the action kicked in again have been the Toro Rosso drivers, with Max Verstappen up to second place, a second behind Hamilton, with team-mate Carlos Sainz a further tenth back.

They we have Raikkonen, Rosberg, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Vettel and Massa.

Palmer is 13th, Wolff 15th, Stevens 17th and Button is still to set a time.

Sauber on Twitter:, external Raffaele jumps out of the C34 for further talks with his race engineer.

Marciello is 16th at present, 3.772secs off Hamilton's quickest times.

Image source, Sauber

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"Force India have come to the British Grand Prix with a major update to their car, what Sergio Perez calls 'our first upgrade'. It features a change to many of the aerodynamic surfaces of the car. As well as an innovative nose, with two slots in it to allow the airflow through, Perez said there are changes to 'the floor, the chassis, the rear floor, the diffuser and the front and rear wings - the whole airflow quality.'

"The Mexican says the team are 'very optimistic', but cautions that it has to be kept in perspective. The old car, he says, would have been very uncompetitive at a downforce-reliant track such as Silverstone - and both he and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg pointed out that it can take a few races for the full effect of updates to be seen. Force India's aim is to hang on to fifth place, which Perez admits won't be easy and Hulkenberg says is 'optimistic'. There is the threat from Lotus - whose car he says has been 0.5secs a lap quicker than the Force India this year - and Toro Rosso, whose car he says is 'mega'. But if this weekend goes well, they even have their sights on displacing Red Bull from fourth. The key, he says, will be to get a lot of mileage in Friday practice to understand the car in its new spec."

Image source, PA

Damien Hirst: Let's hope its not too late as apart from styling changes those new rules should have been from the start.

poolieboy1: I think adding a shorter race on a Saturday is a no go it's just going to add more costs to teams.

Tom Ballaam: I approve. Would prefer a revert to an earlier engine with more cylinders and more of those engines per season to reduce costs.

Right, we're about to see a McLaren on track.

Fernando Alonso is in the cockpit of the unloved MP4-30 and should be going out shortly.

Jenson Button's car, meanwhile, remains in several pieces and ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Some sort of a leak has been reported.

Image source, Reuters

A quick update on Nico Rosberg for you. His car is back in the garage and that hydraulic problem is being worked on by his mechanics.

Will he make it out for what's left of FP1?

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"Can Ferrari challenge Mercedes this weekend on a track that poses one of the toughest all-round challenges to a grand prix car's capabilities? Sebastian Vettel does not sound that optimistic. 'The target since the beginning of the season has been to make sure that we close the gap and become the team that is the number one challenger of Mercedes,' Vettel said on Thursday. 'Mercedes is in a dominant position.

"'For a couple of races we have succeeded in most of the things, you can leave some room for interpretation how many races we want to win, but for sure we want to win, but it is very difficult challenging Mercedes being in the shape they are in right now. What we need: we need to become quicker, we need to become stronger in all areas, they are quicker than us, to do that we are working very hard, we need some time.'

"A sense of where Ferrari's fight really lies was provided by Lewis Hamilton, who said he was not sure whether the Italian team or Williams would be the next team behind Mercedes."

Image source, Getty Images

Just a quick check on the two Brits making cameos in FP1 today.

Williams driver Susie Wolff is in 15th place at present, some 3.5secs off the ultimate pace, while Jolyon Palmer is 11th for Lotus, 2.4secs off pacesetter Hamilton.

Lewis McMurray: As a driver Lewis Hamilton, but as a hero David Purley for his '73 Dutch GP heroism.

Purley famously risked his own life trying to save fellow Briton Roger Williamson from the cockpit of his blazing car at Zandvoort. Williamson sadly died as a result of the accident, despite Purley's actions that earned him a George Medal for bravery.

Image source, Getty Images

Jake Nichol: Sir Jackie Stewart, wouldn't take no for an answer with Safety. Many have been saved.

Nav Tumber: Remember seeing Johnny Herbert on Going Live in '90s. Amazed when he said he passed driving test first time after one lesson.

Romain Grosjean on Twitter:, external Good morning British GP! Thank you for the nice flag and your support.

Grosjean is sitting this session out, with Jolyon Palmer taking over the Frenchman's Lotus.

Image source, Romain Grosjean

The cars are all back in the pits with the first runs completed, so let's take a quick time check.

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:34.815, 2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:35.700, 3. Nico Rosberg - 1:38.875.

Then it's Ricciardo, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Verstappen, Kvyat and Massa rounds out the top 10.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

"McLaren are hoping for a better weekend at their home race after two, frankly, terrible races in Canada and Austria. But already they have had a hit, after discovering that Fernando Alonso's brand new engine, fitted in Austria, was broken in the accident with Kimi Raikkonen.

"Asked what the team could expect from the weekend, Alonso said: 'I don't know. It is a question mark also for us. We were not sure about the performance of the car after Austria. With the new aero package, the car feels more competitive but how competitive we don't know. It was not our preferred track in terms of layout. It will be interesting to see if we can finish the race because after four retirements I would like to finish the race if at all possible. And to see how competitive we are is an answer we need to get this weekend because we don't know if we are 12th, 17th or eighth.

"'It is an important weekend for us. We will put some old engines to avoid any penalties here, which may limit the laps we can do in free practice but we need to find quality laps not number of laps and maximise the performance this weekend and see where we are.'"

Image source, Getty Images

As it's that very special time of the F1 season we thought we'd take the opportunity to pay tribute to the many British drivers to have graced the sport over the last 65 years.

We all know the obvious ones - Mansell, Hamilton etc - but we'd like of your more obscure favourites please.

I, for example, supported Martin Brundle (above) when he was driving in F1, even though his career played out in the shadows of the more successful Mansell and Damon Hill.

Perhaps Derek Warwick did it for you? Or Tony Brooks? Hell, maybe it was Tiff Needell...

Let us know your British favourite using #britishf1hero

McLaren pretty much reached their nadir last time out in Austria with a double retirement following on the heels of a combined 50-place grid penalty.

They have arrived at Silverstone hoping for some solace but their cars are not on track yet, the mechanics instead busy around both cars.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button look pretty relaxed though.

With his team-mate out of the running, Hamilton is now fastest with a 1:35.391.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen has slotted into second place, three tenths back, with Rosberg third as things stand.

The second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel is fourth, albeit well off the pace.

Image source, Reuters

Drama is not the sole preserve of Mercedes, with the Sauber of Felipe Nasr also getting in on the action with a quick spin and Felipe Massa running very wide.

All go in these early stages.

No sooner is Hamilton's drama over than we have have another one down at Mercedes, this time affecting Nico Rosberg.

The German pulls off track just after Copse due to a loss of hydraulic pressure.

We saw a very untidy performance by Lewis Hamilton in Austria a fortnight ago with a spin and a series of missed apexes.

He's started in a similar vein today with a half-spin on the exit of Stowe corner, but the champion is able to continue.

Just under 15 minutes into the session at a gloriously sunny Silverstone and we're starting to get some times on the board.

The two Mercedes are leading the way with Nico Rosberg quickest on a 1:35.875, followed by team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Susie Wolff is also on track in the Williams and will hope for plenty of laps today.

Image source, Reuters

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"There has been some discussion on social media in the fortnight since the Austrian Grand Prix about the Alonso-Raikkonen crash, particularly among Raikkonen fans who cannot believe he made such a mistake (they're not alone, by the way, but not for the same reasons). But there is no evidence that anything happened other than Raikkonen lost control. McLaren, Ferrari and the FIA have both investigated the data from the crash and none can find any evidence that it was a touch from Alonso that tipped Raikkonen sideways, as some on the internet allege.

"Alonso has little patience for the conspiracies. 'Some of the videos also I saw,' he said. 'I am clearly behind him. Kimi after the race said he lost the car and even with that 15 days later people are talking about the same thing. It's just people are sick because if not I don't understand.'"

Image source, EPA