Leclerc tops close final practice for British GP

Charles Leclerc claimed first place for Ferrari in a close final practice session for the British Formula One Grand Prix where the top three were separated by less than one-tenth of a second on Saturday.

Leclerc clocked 1 minute 25.498 seconds on the iconic 5.891 kilometres Silverstone course. He finished ahead of McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri and title holder Max Verstappen, who trailed by .068 and .087 of a second, respectively.

Home favourite Lando Norris was also only .108 off the pace in fourth, promising an exciting qualifying session later Saturday and race on Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton, who topped first practice on Friday, has a record nine Silverstone GP wins and made the podium in the last 11 races there, was 11th in the other Ferrari.

It could have been much better but Hamilton had to abort a fast lap late in the session due to a red flag due to debris on the track after topping the timesheets in the first two sectors.

The clock then also ticked down under the red flag after Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto crashed out, seemingly because his suspension broke when he hit a kerb. Haas driver Oliver Bearman then hit the barriers entering the pit lane, saying his brakes were cold.

F1 reaches the halfway mark of the season on Sunday as the British GP is the 12th of 24 races.

Piastri tops the standings 15 points ahead of Norris, who won the last race in Austria. Verstappen in third is 61 points back after being taken out by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli in Austria.