Bottas leads first rainy practice at Silverstone

Valtteri Bottas pulled off a surprise in the first free practice for the British GP, setting the fastest time in the session on a wet track.

Rain fell at Silverstone before practice and forced all drivers out of the pits on intermediate tires - which almost all of them kept for the hour.

Despite a window of better conditions in the middle of the session, the return of the rain ended any hopes of the track drying out completely.

Bottas dictated the pace with a 1m42.249s, half a second ahead of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton, who put on slick tires at the end.

Hamilton threatened Bottas' first position with the soft compound, but a considerably wetter second sector hurt him.

The only moment of drama occurred in the final minutes when Lance Stroll spun and got bogged down in the gravel box at Copse.

With inspectors quickly arriving on the scene and a rescue truck coming next, the red flag was waved, preventing any further improvements by Bottas and Hamilton.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc - who took the top two spots at the start - finished third and fourth.

Only six other drivers set a time, as the teams did not want to take too many risks in the treacherous conditions.

Red Bull effectively did not participate in practice, with championship leader Max Verstappen completing only three laps.

Result of the first free practice: