SILVERSTONE, U.K. -- On the face of it, normal service was resumed during Friday practice at Silverstone.
Two weeks after struggling with cooling issues in Austria, Mercedes returned to the top of the timesheets on Friday with its drivers split by less than a tenth of a second. The faster of the two, Valtteri Bottas, held a two tenths advantage to Ferrari, and over the long runs the gap to the red cars extended significantly to over a second.
But Friday's practice sessions for the British Grand Prix were anything but conclusive.
Gusty conditions, a new track surface and relatively low ambient temperatures meant no one hooked up a perfect lap on low fuel and fresh tyres.