Hamilton: Silverstone now the fastest but bumpiest it’s ever been

Lewis Hamilton has compared the new bumps in the Silverstone circuit to the Nordschleife but has credited the recent resurfacing making the track ‘the fastest it has ever been’.

The Mercedes driver comfortably topped FP1 but as the temperatures rose for the afternoon session he lost out to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by one-tenth of a second on the single lap pace.

Hamilton is already bracing for a ‘very, very close’ fight against Ferrari as he looks to strike back after failing to finish at the Austrian Grand Prix – his first retirement for 33 races – which saw him lose the Formula 1 world championship lead to Vettel by one point.

The defending F1 world champion, who has won for four consecutive years at the British Grand Prix and has five wins in total, says he’s relishing the new challenge Silverstone provides having been completely resurfaced over the winter but has been critical of the bumps in the track.

“The track is the fastest it has ever been, we're flat out through Copse and Turn 1 and through Turn 2 with the DRS - it's insane,” Hamilton said. “The faster this track gets, the better it gets. It has to be the best track in the world, it feels like driving a fighter jet around the track.

“However, it is also the bumpiest track I've ever experienced; it's like the Nordschleife. With the speeds we're going now and the G-forces we're pulling, I think it's going to be the most physical race of the year.

“It's going to be very, very close this weekend, the Ferraris are really fast. We're in for a serious fight which is great for the fans and I hope that we can pull through.”

Hamilton has the opportunity to make British Grand Prix history this weekend as victory would see him take the outright wins record with six career triumphs at his home event.