On a Silverstone weekend where the presence of Brad Pitt and the Apple Studios crew is the talk of the town, the as of yet untitled Formula 1 film’s executive producer – the sport’s very own A-lister – struggled at his spiritual home on Friday. Lewis Hamilton remains without a win in 19 months since Saudi Arabia in the penultimate round of the 2021 season. Last year, a thrilling British Grand Prix won by Carlos Sainz saw the eight-time winner come close, but the 38-year-old remains on an unprecedented winless streak. This weekend, despite Mercedes bringing an upgraded front-wing, the practice pace simply wasn’t there for Hamilton or his team-mate George Russell. In both sessions, both drivers finished outside the top-10. “It’s a tough car to drive,” stated a brutally honest and demoralised Hamilton. “On a single lap, I didn’t feel any improvement between tyres which shows something is wrong. So we’re missing something. It didn’t feel particularly great. “Me and George were just talking and we’re at different sides with the setup – we’ll try and do something tonight and hopefully we’ll come up with something for tomorrow.” As for the man on top, no surprises here. Max Verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions under the sprinkling Silverstone sun and will be eager to correct a British Grand Prix hoodoo: in eight races, the Dutchman is yet to stand on the top of the podium. He did, however, win the one-off 70th anniversary grand prix at Silverstone during the covid-impacted 2020 season. “Overall, it’s been a strong day again,” Verstappen said, not for the first or last time in 2023. “The car has been performing really well, pretty positive.” Instead of the regularity of Red Bull’s dominance, the main feel-good story on Friday was Williams’ surprise pace, predominantly from the rejuvenated Alex Albon. Slowly but surely creeping up the leaderboard under the leadership of former Mercedes strategist James Vowles, Williams had a day to remember while sporting a special livery to celebrate their upcoming 800th grand prix. Albon was third-fastest in both practice sessions, with American rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant joining him in the top-five in the afternoon. There is forecasted to be rain in the air in and around qualifying on Saturday, which could provide a smidgeon of unpredictability in what has been a predictable order of events in the past few months, with Red Bull’s and in particular Verstappen’s all-out domination. Instead, a record 480,00 crowd at Silverstone this weekend – up by 79,000 from 2022 – will find intrigue in the early production scenes of the highly-anticipated feature film, with Pitt the star attraction. The fictional ‘Apex’ team are filming scenes in and around the paddock and using impressively modified F2 cars on track with stunt drivers. There are even plans for scenes to be rapidly shot on the grid ahead of Sunday’s grand prix. Such is Verstappen’s supremacy, the pre-race shenanigans could represent the most entertainment on Sunday ahead of a British Grand Prix whose victor has never felt quite so inevitable. There is also, understandably, wariness of another Just Stop Oil protest this weekend, after their actions at Wimbledon this week and at various sporting events this summer, with F1 and Northamptonshire Police on high alert and making extra provisions to ensure all the action goes ahead without interruption. Read More Alex Albon provides closest threat to Red Bull in British Grand Prix practice What time is F1 qualifying tomorrow at the British Grand Prix? Formula One welcomes Brad Pitt but is wary of protesters at British Grand Prix What time is qualifying at the British Grand Prix on Saturday? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times from Silverstone

David Balogun is a normal kid who competes in paper airplane races with his younger sister, Eliana and struggles to sit still, but he is also one of the youngest people in the United States to receive a high school diploma. In late January, Balogun graduated from Reach Cyber Charter School, which is a tuition-free online school in Pennsylvania. This month he will be starting classes at Southern New Hampshire University as a full-time student. Balogun and his parents, Ronya and Henry, spoke about what it was, and still is, like raising someone with a high intellect on CNBC Make It. The couple said they first tested their son’s intelligence when he was six years old. After that, they began to rethink any parenting philosophies they previously had. “There’s no book on it,” Ronya said. “You’ve got to develop a different mindset as a parent,” Henry added. “It’s not always easy when your son is asking you questions constantly. You have to keep answering the questions, because you don’t want to say, ‘Just leave me alone.’” Because of David’s unique circumstances, they’ve developed their own number one rule: When a system isn’t built for your child, don’t try to fix your child. Try to fix the system. Ronya said when David was in first grade, a regular classroom wasn’t working anymore, noting that sometimes his peers would listen to him more than the teacher. So they looked into their state’s gifted programs, which also proved to not be rigorous enough for their nine year old. In 2020, his parents enrolled him in Reach which allowed him to individualise his curriculum and take high school level classes. Although that didn’t come without challenges, including multiple calls to The College Board because David’s birthdate was too young to enroll in advanced placement exams. As for deciding on college, Ronya said she had to put her foot down mentioning she didn’t want David in a class filled with 20 year olds. “It’s a different adaptation that we don’t have in the United States of America yet. It’s very scary, you can’t find this,” she said. “Sometimes I can’t fix the system, but there are other unconventional choices and solutions to help lead my son through his journey to fulfill his dreams.” Trust is also a big part in parenting David, his parents said. They mentioned that, when he was learning specific skills like adding and subtracting negative numbers before he was taught, they had to believe he knew how. “I can’t tell him, ‘This is what you know,’ because I’m not in his brain,” Ronya said. “I have to trust him to be partially leading the way.” Although there are some boundaries in this trust, as David came home one day claiming he now knew where babies came from. His mother was able to briefly give him some information on reproductive anatomy before putting the conversation to a stop. “Mind you, at this moment, I’m talking to a six year old,” Ronya said. In terms of what happens to David beyond college, his parents are unsure and are just figuring it out as they go along. “There is no frame of reference,” Ronya said. “So you know how sometimes when there is no path, you start a new path? Yep, that’s what we’re doing.” The Independent has contacted Ronya and Henry for comment. Read More TikToker urges parents to save old clothes for their children after inheriting mother’s wardrobe Mother criticises ‘double standard’ after husband is praised for taking toddlers to grocery store Mother sparks viral debate for ‘shaming’ parent who refused to give her daughter a slice of cake TikToker urges parents to save all their old clothes for children to inherit Gen X mother goes viral for attack on ‘tired’ American Dream Couple discovers why their child thought ‘mums foam at the mouth while having babies’

Japan’s plan to release more than 1 million cubic meters — enough to fill 500 Olympic-size swimming pools

TL;DR: As of June 30, get the BirdBike eBike for only $899.97 — that's about

Ice cream makers have never had a moment like other popular kitchen devices. They’ve never

There is something for everyone at the movies this summer, both in theaters and streaming at home

LVMH’s US sales declined in the second quarter as a sluggish economy deterred some shoppers from buying its

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 5, 2023--

Smart home technology has come a long way in recent years, and Cyber Monday is

A24 has released an official lyric video "Gay Old Time," an irreverent musical number from

“Recently, I was talking to a fisherman in a small town in Italy. His family has been fishing

When Michel Sadelain began his decades-long quest to genetically modify immune cells to fight cancer, his peers dismissed his ideas as absurd and even his mother...