With the British Grand Prix to host the all-new 100km sprint qualifying this weekend, drivers completed the first free practice session at Silverstone. Red Bull Max Verstappen topped the timesheets yet again with 1m27.035s set on the soft tires, which gave a mammoth advantage to the Dutch over the other drivers in the sole practice session before the qualifying.

Lando Norris finished P2 between the two title rivals and was seventh tenths of a second behind Verstappen. Whereas the local hero, Lewis Hamilton, claimed surprising P3 and finished just 0.001s behind his fellow compatriot.

During the race, the Knight’s engineer told him about the gap between him and Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton trailed the Dutch by 0.780 seconds. And after hearing the gap the 7-time world champion got startled and questioned: “Seven-tenths! Where is that coming from?” 

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Winning the eighth championship this season will be a ‘tall order’: Lewis Hamilton

Heading into his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton is currently on a streak of five winless races. The last time he experienced such a feat was back in 2016, the year his teammate Nico Rosberg won the championship.

He has failed to register a single win since mid-may, assisting Max Verstappen to lead the driver’s championship. Currently, the Brit sits P2 in the driver’s standing, 32 points adrift on his arch-rival, Verstappen.

Meanwhile, the reigning champion admits securing the eighth title this season will be a ‘tall order’.

“It’s what I dream of and am working towards. I am massively driven. But it’s a tall order,” said Lewis Hamilton in an interview with BBC.

“Their performance has gone a little bit out of reach but we are working as hard as we can to close back up.”

It will be an uphill task for Hamilton to stop the in-form Max Verstappen, who won three races on the trot. Although, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have been traditionally strong at Silverstone in recent years. The Brackley-based team has won nearly every race at Silverstone since 2013 except the 2018 season. On the other hand, Red Bull won the British GP all the way back in 2012.

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What do you think? Can Lewis Hamilton turn his fortune around at his home race and end his winless drought this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.