Free Practice 1 – Russian GP – A disrupted and shortened session crowns Hülkenberg
A track spoiled by diesel stains from nowhere disrupted this first free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix, giving Nico Hülkenberg and Force India a fastest time that was anecdotal.
No one yet knows how to explain it, but a diesel leak has contaminated a large part of the Sochi track, shortly before the start of the first practice session of this Russian Grand Prix.
After trying every possible way to clean the tarmac using absorbent products and water, the race management decided to shorten the session. Initially scheduled for 90 minutes, drivers and teams will have to make do with a mere hour and a partially wet track to set up their single-seaters. The rain also came to disrupt the session.
In this little game, the drivers are hardly daring and it will be necessary to wait for the last quarter of an hour to see activity on the track. Nico Hülkenberg thus dethrones the two McLarens, temporarily at the top of the standings, while Lewis Hamilton spins without consequence at the end of the session.
For the second session, conditions should return to normal and offer a little more spectacle.
The full ranking of FP1:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1.44.355 | 11 | |
2 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1.44.407 | +0.052 | 15 |
3 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1.44.986 | +0.631 | 15 |
4 | Perez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1.45.146 | +0.791 | 11 |
5 | Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1.45.233 | +0.878 | 10 |
6 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1.45.488 | +1.133 | 13 |
7 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1.45.691 | +1.336 | 10 |
8 | Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1.45.746 | +1.391 | 13 |
9 | Verstappen | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1.46.203 | +1.848 | 13 |
10 | Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1.46.215 | +1.860 | 16 |
11 | Button | McLaren Honda | 1.46.231 | +1.876 | 12 |
12 | Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1.46.333 | +1.978 | 12 |
13 | Nasr | Sauber F1 Team | 1.46.747 | +2.392 | 13 |
14 | Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1.47.443 | +3.088 | 16 |
15 | Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1.48.006 | +3.651 | 9 |
16 | Kvyat | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1.48.096 | +3.741 | 9 |
17 | Palmer | Lotus F1 Team | 1.49.094 | +4.739 | 9 |
18 | Merhi | Manor Marussia F1 | 1.52.994 | +8.639 | 12 |
19 | Ericsson | Sauber F1 Team | 1.54.272 | +9.917 | 12 |
20 | Stevens | Manor Marussia F1 | 1.58.254 | +13.899 | 6 |
