Lewis Hamilton shows Mercedes' utter dominance in 70th Anniversary practice at Silverstone

• Exclusive Esteban Ocon interview: 'In F1 you want to race against the best'

• Renault protest against Racing Point cars upheld — team fined €400,000 and docked 15 points

• Hulkenberg replaces Perez for a second weekend after Mexican tests positive for second time

Lewis Hamilton continued his dominance of the new Formula One season by finishing fastest in second practice for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Hamilton saw off Valtteri Bottas by 0.176 seconds at Silverstone after the Finn went quickest in the morning running.

Renault's Daniel Ricciardo was third in the order, while Sebastian Vettel broke down in his Ferrari during the closing stages following an engine failure.

Mercedes have won all of the races staged this season, and their stranglehold on the sport looks set to carry over to Sunday's fifth round.

Hamilton finished the final track action of the day eight tenths clear of Ricciardo, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen in fourth, 0.831 sec back.

Racing Point's Lance Stroll was the only other driver to end the running within a second of Hamilton's pace.

Hamilton holds a 30-point lead over Bottas at the championship summit as he chases a record-equalling seventh world title - and on the evidence of Friday's running appears set to extend his margin.

Vettel was once the closest championship challenger to Hamilton, but the four-time world champion is enduring an arduous campaign.

And he suffered a fresh setback here when he was forced to pull over with smoke pouring out the back of his Ferrari.

Vettel, who finished a lowly 10th at Silverstone last weekend for the British Grand Prix, was only 14th - 1.6 sec adrift of Hamilton - when he parked his stricken car in the closing minutes.

Vettel's team-mate Charles Leclerc finished seventh, one spot behind Nico Hulkenberg who is back in the Racing Point cockpit this weekend as Sergio Perez remains sidelined with coronavirus.

Elsewhere, British driver Lando Norris, fourth in the standings ahead of Sunday's landmark grand prix, was eighth, one place ahead of McLaren team-mate Carlos Sainz. George Russell finished 16th for Williams.

Final Times after second practice

1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 25.606secs

2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:25.782

3. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:26.421

4. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:26.437

5. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:26.501

6. Nico Hulkenburg (Ger) Racing Point 1:26.746

7. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:26.812

8. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:26.867

9. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:26.918

10. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault 1:26.928

11. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:26.960

12. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:27.002

13. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:27.128

14. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:27.198

15. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:27.294

16. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:27.320

17. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:27.535

18. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:27.582

19. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:27.683

20. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:27.955

---

03:55 PM

That's it from me today

Thanks for joining me. Mercedes quickest by a mile, again. Not that it was a surprise. If they collide on the opening lap it might be an interesting race. But even then Max Verstappen would probably just mop it up as comfortably ahead of the rest of the field...

Well, let's hope qualifying throws up some surprises tomorrow. I'll be back from that from around 12.45pm. 

---

03:40 PM

Big strugglers today

Albon and Vettel in particular, who were both miles away from their team-mates. Especially Albon, who just cannot seem to get within a few tenths of Verstappen in the vast majority of sessions. 

---

03:39 PM

FP2 - Classification

1. HAM 1.25.606
2. BOT 1.25.782
3. RIC 1.26.421
4. VER 1.26.437
5. STR 1.26.501
6. HUL 1.26.746
7. LEC 1.26.812
8. NOR 1.26.867
9. SAI 1.26.918
10. OCO 1.26.928
11. ALB 1.26.960
12. KVY 1.27.002
13. GAS 1.27.128
14. VET 1.27.198
15. GRO 1.27.294
16. RUS 1.27.320
17. RAI 1.27.535
18. MAG 1.27.582
19. LAT 1.27.683
20. GIO 1.27.955

---

03:32 PM

FP2 - SESSION ENDS

And it's Lewis Hamilton quickest, 0.176s ahead of Bottas and 0.815s ahead of Daniel Ricciardo's Renault in third. Full order and classification coming soon. 

---

03:29 PM

FP2 - RED FLAG

Not because of Vettel, but Giovinazzi has stopped in the middle of Becketts. With just a minute or so left on the clock that will be the end of the session. Not sure what's happened there but it is another Ferrari power unit in the back of the Alfa Romeo. 

---

03:28 PM

FP2 - No red flag as they get rid of the stricken Ferrari quite quickly

It won't have compromised his session too much as it happened towards the end of the session. Far from ideal, though. 

---

03:25 PM

FP2 - Vettel's power unit gives up the ghost

On the old pit straight, leaving a long trail of oil throughout the high speed. You can see it leaking out of the bottom once he pulls over into the old pit lane exit. 

"Big failure at the back of the car... In the drivetrain, that didn't feel right"

Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari comes to a stop and we're now under a Virtual Safety Car 🟡#F170 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/YixCcgjNMw

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 7, 2020

Virtual Safety Car called. Wonder if we will get any more running, a red flag is surely imminent. It completely went as he was going through Woodcote, so he pulled over as soon as he could. 

---

03:22 PM

FP2 - Verstappen on his long run, a little belatedly

A 1.31.726 last time around which isn't too bad considering the Mercedes cars ended up around 1.31.4/5 towards the end of their stints. 

---

03:18 PM

FP2 - 13 minutes to go

Nico Hulkenberg was earlier complaining of a loose seat. And he pulls into the pits because of it. Decent running from him so far today. 

---

03:17 PM

FP2 - The Renaults look good on race pace at the moment

With fourth for Ricciardo and sixth for Ocon, they had their second best result since their return as a works team since 2016. Can they pick up another bag of points this weekend? Racing Point's points deduction has helped them out in the championship, moving them up to fifth.

Sainz and Daniil Kvyat having a ding-dong battle in practice all the way through Brooklands and through Copse. Not sure why.

---

03:13 PM

FP2 - Just nine laps for Verstappen

Which is a little odd. He's the only man in single figures. Still, he's in P4. He did 12 laps before setting a timed run earlier on today, too. Suppose there was plenty of running on this track last weekend. Meanwhile, some horrible blistering on the rear right for Charles Leclerc's medium tyres. 

---

03:08 PM

FP2 - Race simulations under way

Hamilton just under a tenth quicker than Bottas in the mid-high 1.30s. Leclerc in the 1.33s, as is Vettel. Ricciardo a 1.32.394 last time around. 

23 minutes left. 

---

03:00 PM

FP2 - It's quite sad that we have to look behind Mercedes for the action

But that is where we are. After the top two we have: a Renault, a Red Bull, two Racing Points, a Ferrari, two McLarens and another Renault. 2022 cannot come soon enough...

---

02:55 PM

FP2 - Ricciardo into third!

Eight-tenths of a second off the pace. That's, relatively, lightning quick. Ahead of Verstappen by 0.016s. Hooked it up there. 

---

02:51 PM

FP2 - Norris waving at Albon, I think, mid way through the lap

Just a gentle wave. Nothing to do with being blocked, I don't think. Albon currently in P13. 

👋 @LandoNorris 😂#SkyF1 | #F1 | #F170 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/fwaJlygSE5

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 7, 2020

---

02:47 PM

FP2 - 45 minutes remanining

Mercedes miles ahead as usual. Verstappen and the Racing Points looking fairly sharp. Behind them it is pretty close with Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and now AlphaTauri all in the mix. In fact, from Leclerc in P6 all the way down to Russell in P16 there is just half a second. 

---

02:43 PM

FP2 - Hamilton now fastest

With a 1.25.606. That was on the mediums and 0.176s ahead of Bottas. The mediums seem to be comparable to the softs over one lap, hanging on more throughout the lap. 

---

02:42 PM

FP2 - Vettel on a qualification simulation

Or quali sim. He's 0.335s down in sector one alone! Could be a high fuel run on the softs, I guess rather than a quali sim? Looks like a hot lap to me. It's only good enough for ninth, 1.4s off Bottas's time. Leclerc goes P6 soon afterwards but he is four tenths quicker than his team-mate. Another difficult weekend for Vettel?

---

02:37 PM

FP2 - Daniel Ricciardo pops up into P6

As Valtteri Bottas attempts a hot lap on the soft tyres. He's 0.142s up on Hamilton's quickest lap after two sectors. He has struggled, relatively, in the final sector compared to his team-mate. Again he loses half 0.02s to him there but still goes fastest. 

---

02:29 PM

FP2 - Current order

1. HAM
2. BOT
3. VER
4. HUL
5. NOR
6. STR
7. ALB
8. SAI
9. OCO
10. GAS
11. RUS
12. KVY
13. LEC
14. LAT
15. RIC
16. GRO
17. MAG
18. VET
19. RAI
20. GIO

Tyre compounds largely all over the place but Mercedes in a league of their own again. With Verstappen in no man's land between them and the midfield.  

---

02:27 PM

FP2 - Russell goes into 11th

1.409s off Hamilton's quickest time, but on the medium tyres. Everyone has done a lap now, so I'll give you the order in a short while. 

---

02:25 PM

FP2 - Hamilton goes fastest

Despite behind distracted by Russell in sector one. He goes fastest in sectors one and two, and quickest by just 0.006s. Mediums looking a decent tyre, then. 

---

02:24 PM

FP2 - Hulkenberg improves his time

But still second and still a second away from Bottas. Norris has slipped into third on the soft tyre. Hamilton giving the softs a go, too. 

---

02:21 PM

FP2 - Bottas now the fastest man

He is 1.2s quicker than Stroll — who had just gone quickest by 0.003s over Hulkenberg! And on the medium tyres. Wow.  Mind you, Albon is nearly matching the Racing Points on the hard tyres, so maybe that's not great from Racing Point. Obviously without the full context. 

---

02:19 PM

FP2 - Hulkenberg pips Stroll

He's half a tenth quicker. Decent stuff from the German. 

---

02:16 PM

FP2 - Stroll quickest

His 1.27.179 is 0.289s ahead of Kvyat. Suspect he'll be there for another hour or so until the quali simulations run again. 

Current order with 75 mins left:

1. STR
2. KVY +0.289
3. RIC +0.557
4. GRO +0.792
5. MAG +0.918
6. RAI +1.158
7. GIO +1.395

Hulkenberg in the other Racing Point also giving it a go on the soft tyres and he's fastest in sector one. 

---

02:13 PM

FP2 - Kvyat now the quickest man after a flurry of times

Well, six drivers to have set a time now.  The Russian is 0.268s ahead of Danirl Ricciardo (albeit on the hard tyres), Magnussen and Grosjean next. 

Lance Stroll giving it a go on the soft tyres, assuming a qualification simulation run after not being able to have a clean lap in FP1. 

---

02:10 PM

FP2 - Magnussen the first man to set a time

A 1.28.097 on the medium tyres, the first driver to do a lap on anything but the softs today. Ricciardo out on the hard tyres for Renault. 

---

02:07 PM

FP2 - A few cars out at the moment

In the slightly cloudier conditions. Daniel Ricciardo out. Decent result for him last weekend, a very encouraging fourth place. 

We're under way with @RGrosjean, who is the first on track

Who do you think will top the FP2 charts? 🤔#F170 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/dUGrf7znCm

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 7, 2020

---

02:02 PM

FP2 - 88 minutes to go

Not a single car on track...

---

02:00 PM

FP2 begins...

90 minutes to go. 

---

01:56 PM

Four minutes until FP2 starts

Looks lovely out there at the moment. If a bit cloudy. 

---

01:47 PM

Tom Cary's interview with Murray Walker is also well worth a read

Walker will be sorry to miss the Silverstone celebrations this weekend. But he will be at the former airfield in spirit. “It holds so many happy memories for me,” he admits. “The first year I was there they were using the runways and the cars were literally driving towards each other at a cumulative speed of about 280mph and then peeling off just before they hit each other!” 

Read the full interview here.  

---

01:38 PM

A few drivers had a difficult time last weekend

Their relative performances in that race — and in others — exposed by the quality of their team-mate. I wrote about the wearying effects of lining up alongside a great driver in the sister car earlier this week. 

In a fast car or a big team there is nowhere to hide. Further back, you are only really noticed for the good things you do and poor performances are more easily written off. At the front, your flaws are exposed and scrutinised, every tenth of a second or mistake put under the microscope. 

Read the full piece here.  

---

01:33 PM

Plenty of big news today

• Perez tests positive for Covid-19 again, will be replaced by Hulkenberg again
• Renault's protest against Racing Point's cars has been upheld
• Racing Point are thus fined 400,000 euro and docked 15 points in the constructors' championship for a breach of the sporting regulations
• Renault could appeal against this as they do not think the punishment is severe enough

---

01:23 PM

Love this helicam shot of Raikkonen in first practice

Kimi cam! 😍#F170 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/rF9eFyL9k6

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 7, 2020

 Would also love to see these cars with a little less downforce, too. 

---

01:07 PM

Nico Hulkenberg has a new helmet this weekend

He ran a blank carbon helmet last weekend which I quite liked. 

🍬#F170 #F1 pic.twitter.com/AiMhW0UUoH

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) August 7, 2020

 This one isn't bad, though. 

---

01:06 PM

Good afternoon again

FP2 gets underway in just under an hour. It's likely to be a scorching session. 

---

11:42 AM

Okay, that's it from me for now

I'll be back about...2pm for the build-up to second practice, which starts at 3pm BST. Hopefully we can discover a bit more than in FP1. 

---

11:36 AM

FP1 - Order and times

1. BOT 1.26.166
2. HAM +0.138
3. VER +0.727
4. HUL +0.776
5. LEC +0.896
6. ALB +1.114
7. VET +1.332
8. STR +1.373
9. KVY +1.487
10. OCO +1.535
11. GAS +1.541
12. NOR +1.680
13. GRO +1.742
14. SAI +1.972
15. RUS +2.004
16. LAT +2.060
17. RIC +2.345
18. RAI +2.489
19. KUB +2.794
20. MAG +3.153

Mercedes in a league of their own. Again.  

---

11:32 AM

FP1 ENDS

And Valtteri Bottas is quickest, 0.138s ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Not a great deal learned from that session. The soft tyres - which were not used last weekend - were used exclusively in this session. I don't think anyone used any other compound. Decent lap from Hulkenberg, though. Finishing within a tenth of Verstappen. 

---

11:23 AM

FP1 - Big gap between Grosjean and Magnussen

Don't think Magnussen's lap time is entirely representative, though, as he's 1.4s away from Grosjean and down at the bottom of the pack. Grosjean in P13. Anomalous. 

---

11:21 AM

FP1 - 10 minutes to go

Lando Norris currently circulating. He's in P12 ahead of Sainz. What a season he's having so far, fourth in the championship with 36 points. 

---

11:20 AM

FP1 - Hulkenberg back up into P4

0.776s off the pace. Decent. And quite a bit quicker than Lance Stroll. Such a shame it was last weekend that he did not get to race. 

---

11:13 AM

FP1 - Speaking of Albon

He's struggling with understeer. He went very wide on the exit of Brooklands into Luffield. He nearly lost the car into Copse... blimey. 

Hulkenberg on an out lap. 

---

11:10 AM

FP1 - Here's a good photo of Albon's skinny rear wing

 He could do with a good weekend here. Steadily into Q3 and a comfortable fourth place. Racing Point did not seem to be much of a challenge for Red Bull last week but Leclerc in the Ferrari was. I don't know, though. Albon just seems to be making mistakes at critical times at the moment. That is a hard thing to get out of when you are a) against Verstappen and b) under huge pressure generally. 

---

11:05 AM

FP1 - Order with 25 minutes to go

1. BOT
2. HAM
3. VER
4. HUL
5. LEC
6. ALB
7. VET
8. STR
9. KVY
10. OCO
11. GAS
12. NOR
13. GRO
14. SAI
15. RUS
16. RIC
17. LAT
18. RAI
19. KUB
20. MAG 

---

11:04 AM

FP1 - Verstappen out again

Will this be his first timed lap? These soft tyres are likely to be an irrelevance this weekend. Could be used for Q2 for the midfield teams but not by the frontrunners. Not sure how long the stints will be on those. Verstappen nearly turned into a Ferrari in the middle of the lap...no contact in the end. 

Anyway, it was Verstappen's first timed lap the lap before and he went third 0.727s off the pace. 

---

10:59 AM

FP1 - Vettel runs wide at the start of the lap

He's currently down in P8. Can he do any better this weekend? Was nowhere, really, and was lucky to score any points. His on another hot lap on the soft tyres which have been run almost exclusively this session. At the moment Leclerc is able to get out of the Ferrari what Vettel cannot. 

Vettel goes P5 with a 1.27.498. A couple of tenths behind Albon. Still no lap time from Verstappen yet and he is continuing his out-lap/in-lap combination for the sixth time. 

---

10:54 AM

FP1 - Hamilton cannot beat Bottas's time

Got a bit out of shape in the final few corners. He ends up 0.138s off Bottas's time. 

---

10:50 AM

FP1 - The Mercedes horseshoe is a tribute to Sir Stirling Moss

This weekend, we will be paying tribute to the legendary Sir Stirling Moss by carrying a special horseshoe emblem on our cars across the race weekend.

This was a symbol which appeared on Stirling’s pioneering Cooper race cars during the early days of his career. #F170 pic.twitter.com/1NgRVoHYmm

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 6, 2020

 Bottas is about to go quickest. Indeed he does with three purple sectors 0.676s ahead of Hamilton and into the low 1.26s...Hamilton's turn next. 

---

10:49 AM

FP1 - Half way gone now

And it is the traditional lull...

Bottas cranking it up whilst the track is empty, though. 

---

10:43 AM

FP1 - Current positions and lap times

1. HAM 1.26.842
2. BOT +0.558
3. LEC + 0.702
4. ALB +0.857
5. HUL +1.090
6. VET +1.120
7. STR +1.229
8. NOR +1.234
9. SAI +1.269
10. GAS +1.327
11. OCO +1.408
12. KVY +1.654
13. GRO +1.742
14. LAT +1.792
15. RUS +1.959
16. RAI +2.272
17. MAG +2.477
18. KUB +2.857
19. RIC +4.134
20. VER (no times)

Verstappen, by the way, has done 10 laps (around the same as everyone else) but that has been five in and then out laps. 

---

10:37 AM

FP1 - Lance Stroll squeezed in the extreme by an AlphaTauri

It happened through Woodcote and Stroll had to go onto the grass. Think it was Kvyat who was not looking in his mirrors. 

---

10:35 AM

FP1 - Hulkenberg P4

One second off the pace of Hamilton. Not bad. Every quick lap set on the softs so far, which is slightly unusual but they know all about these tyres from running last weekend. The current softs are the only new compound to the teams for this race. 

---

10:34 AM

FP1 - Bottas now attempting a hot lap

It's going to be pretty quick, isn't it? I reckon a 1.27.109. This car is just so good. He's fastest of anyone in sector one...and sector two. Hamilton also giving it full beans — quicker than Bottas in fact. 

Bottas sets a 1.27.4...

What can Hamilton do? A 1.26.842, so miiiiles quicker than Bottas. Not sure what happened with Bottas's lap or if he made a small mistake somewhere. 

---

10:27 AM

FP1 - Running order after 27 minutes

1. LEC
2. VET
3. ALB
4. STR
5. GAS
6. HUL
7. KVY
8. GRO
9. SAI
10. RAI
11. MAG
12. LAT
13. KUB

---

10:26 AM

FP1 - Leclerc on a hot lap

He's quickest of anyone in the first two sectors. The final sector is a little off but he still goes quickest by four tenths over Vettel. 

---

10:24 AM

FP1 - Albon goes P2

Quickest in the first sector but not great in the final two. That Red Bull is running a very, very skinny rear wing!

---

10:20 AM

FP1 - Ferraris out

Leclerc the quickest of the two so far, as he was all last weekend. He's two tenths ahead of Vettel at the moment, who had a rotten weekend last time out. 

---

10:18 AM

FP1 - Raikkonen the first man to set a time

See what I mean? Nearly 20 minutes gone and 1/20 of the drivers have set a representative lap time. It's a 1.29.395 for the Finn, after his first time lap featured a bit of off-track action. 

---

10:17 AM

FP1 - Horseshoe emblems on the Mercedes front end this weekend

Don't recall them at any other point of the season, they look quite neat though. Not sure what they represent. Good luck?

---

10:13 AM

FP1 - Verstappen the only man out at the moment

Will he be the first man to set a timed lap? Nope. He dives into the pit lane again. Have to say I am not really sure why we have 90 minute practice sessions on Friday when for much of the first hour there is no running. 2 x 1hr sessions on Friday would be more than enough.

Frankly, I'd go for just one practice session on Friday, of an hour. In fact, why not make it more advantageous to the lesser teams who should get more track time than the more successful ones?

---

10:07 AM

FP1 - Robert Kubica deputising for Giovinazzi here

In the Alfa Romeo. That's a sort of regular deal he gets, probably a condition of his sponsorship from PK Orlen. Still good to see him in a Grand Prix car, though. 

---

10:06 AM

FP1 - Can Williams score their first point this weekend?

Think they'd need a handful of things to fall in their favour. Would be great, though. 

Let’s get to work 💪#F170 🇬🇧 | #WeAreWilliams 💙 pic.twitter.com/uN79xio7GK

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) August 7, 2020

---

10:03 AM

FP1 - 88 minutes to go

A little flurry of activity out on track at the moment, the usual install laps. Remember, after last week's tyre-wrecking Grand Prix, the tyre compounds are a step softer this weekend, indicating a guaranteed two-stopper. Right? Maybe not. 

---

10:00 AM

FP1 begins

Silverstone, let's do it again. 

---

09:58 AM

Current driver standings

 FP1 about to get underway. It's going to be scorching. 

---

09:49 AM

More on Racing Point

So, it is the sporting regulations not the technical ones, that Racing Point have broken. Therefore the car is legal and can continue to compete as it is. 

---

09:45 AM

Szafnauer speaks

Just spoke to Szafnauer. He says his initial feeling is that the decision is "unfair" and Racing Point now need to digest the ruling and decide whether or not they want to appeal. Interview being ingested and will be available shortly #F1

— Lawrence Barretto (@lawrobarretto) August 7, 2020

Think this will be the biggest talking point until qualifying begins.  

---

09:44 AM

So, it seems it was the rear brake ducts that were the reason the protest was upheld

Here's a bit more detail from the FIA. 

 This is not going to stop here, folks. I suspect Renault will appeal some aspects of this. They will want a lot more than a 15 point deduction and an (albeit hefty) 400k fine. 

---

09:33 AM

Updated constructor standings after the RP deduction

1. MERCEDES - 146
2. RED BULL - 78
3. MCLAREN - 51
4. FERRARI - 43
5. RENAULT - 32
6. RACING POINT - 27
7. ALPHATAURI - 13
8. ALFA ROMEO - 2
9. HAAS - 1
10. WILLIAMS - 0

---

09:17 AM

The FIA ruling is obviously incredibly long and detailed

But here is a brief summary from the official document.

 I'll try and dig out the main points from the overall ruling. Note that neither driver loses points and it is a total of 15 points deducted — which comes from their Styrian Grand Prix total — with only a reprimand served for the Hungarian and British GPs. 

---

09:09 AM

BIG news just coming in

Renault's protest against both Racing Point cars has been upheld. The team have been docked 15 constructor points and have been fined a total of €400,000. 

More to follow...

---

09:02 AM

Hulkenberg to replace Perez again after Mexican tests positive for Covid-19 for second time

Sergio Perez has been ruled out of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix after returning a positive Covid-19 test result.

On Thursday, Perez, the first Formula One driver to go down with coronavirus, was given the green light by Public Health England to race at Silverstone after serving seven days in quarantine.

But ahead of practice, his Racing Point team confirmed his latest test was positive. The 30-year-old will be replaced again by German Nico Hulkenberg.

Racing Point described Perez, who contracted the virus after visiting his mother in Mexico following last month's Hungarian Grand Prix, as "physically well and recovering".

Hulkenberg deputised for Perez last weekend and qualified 13th. But he failed to start the race following a technical failure.

got the keys again 🤠 @RacingPointF1 pic.twitter.com/qLnPFZE11s

— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) August 7, 2020

"I'm excited to get going again with the team at Silverstone," said Hulkenberg, 32, who used to compete for Racing Point in its former guise as Force India.

"Last weekend, it was a real step into the unknown having been away from the team for a few years — and driving a car I'd never driven before.

"I am ready to apply my experiences to this weekend. Racing at the same track again makes things a bit easier and the team has done a great job in helping me get up to speed.

"I think we can fight for points this weekend, which is definitely my goal. I also want to wish Checo all the best in his recovery."

Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer added: "Nico did a really strong job last weekend after receiving a last-minute call to drive for us at Silverstone, and he proved why he was an obvious choice to stand in for Checo.

"It was a big shame he couldn't actually take the start of the race last Sunday, but all that hard work will prove very useful for this weekend.

"We miss having Checo with us, but we wish him well and look forward to welcoming him back into the team in the near future." 

Phil Duncan, PA, Silverstone