Hamilton 2nd fastest around Silverstone as Mercedes' upgrades seem to do the trick

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz topped second practice ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with home favourite Lewis Hamiton coming in second place.

The seven-time world champion, who has been at the centre of Formula 1's racism row, which has dominated the build-up to this weekend's event, finished just 0.163 seconds behind Sainz, with Lando Norris third for McLaren.

Hamilton's encouraging lap in front of his home crowd comes just days after it emerged triple world champion Nelson Piquet had aimed a racist slur at the British driver in a podcast recorded last November.

Piquet apologised to Hamilton, insisting the offensive term was mistranslated. But fresh footage emerged on Friday from a separate interview in which the Brazilian used homophobic language when speaking about Hamilton.

The 69-year-old has been banned from the paddock.

A good session to finish off the day ?? Now it’s heads down and onto Quali day tomorrow. #essereFerrari ?? #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/LtfqHLqE3g

Mercedes is ready to attack

On track, Hamilton's Mercedes team have arrived at Silverstone armed with their third major upgrade of the year. A new suspension, rear wing, floor and side-pods have been strapped onto the Silver Arrows to rescue their season, and the early signs are encouraging.

Although Hamilton reported his revised machine was "bouncing a lot at high speed", the silky-smooth Silverstone asphalt suits Mercedes.

Hamilton is 98 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen heading into the 10th round of 22. Still, his form here - although times in practice have to be treated with caution - will give him hope that he could challenge the front-runners at a track where he has won a record eight times.

READ: WRAP | 2022 British Grand Prix -