Germany – Free Practice 1: Rosberg and Hamilton without FRIC but in the lead
The first free practice session of the F1 German Grand Prix was dominated, in terms of times, by the two Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton by 65 thousandths.
The sun is shining over the Hockenheim circuit as the tenth Grand Prix weekend of the season begins.
The session is underway! The first driver out is Susie Wolff, the Scot who could only complete four laps in Silverstone is already slowing down on her installation lap. She reports over the radio that she has a problem shifting up gears. Her team instructs her to stay in first gear and try to make it back to the garages, which she manages to do.
After the installation laps, it’s completely calm on track. The drivers aren’t rushing to get on the track. It takes 15 minutes for Marcus Ericsson to set the first time: 1:28.480. At the same time, Williams sends Wolff back on track. She immediately takes the best time with 1:22.481, then Kevin Magnussen beats it by two seconds. Kimi Räikkönen, back after his accident, experiences a water pump issue and has to head to the pits. Mistakes are piling up at the start of the session, with many missed braking points and off-track excursions.
**After 30 minutes**, Sebastian Vettel is in the lead (1:20.295), ahead of Rosberg, Magnussen, Ricciardo, and Alonso. The drivers have returned to hand back to Pirelli the extra set of tires provided. No one is going out again, except for Max Chilton. The Brit is joined a few moments later by Kamui Kobayashi.
After the mid-session, the drivers start to go out again. Vettel is on a six-lap stint; Grosjean, on the other hand, experiences a rare problem as his DRS remained open during braking, causing him to make a mistake. Rosberg takes the lead with 1:19.131 and Hamilton falls short by 65 thousandths of a second from his teammate.
Half an hour from the end, Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Alonso, and Button make up the Top 5. As usual, the last thirty minutes are used for long stints with fuel loads. With only 12 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton complains of a loss of power during acceleration. He returns to the pits but comes back out shortly after.
The session concludes with a Mercedes one-two, Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, followed by Fernando Alonso.
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:19.131 | 29 | |
2 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:19.196 | +0.065 | 25 |
3 | Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:19.423 | +0.292 | 21 |
4 | Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:19.697 | +0.566 | 27 |
5 | Button | McLaren Mercedes | 1:19.833 | +0.702 | 24 |
6 | Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:20.097 | +0.966 | 28 |
7 | Magnussen | McLaren Mercedes | 1:20.105 | +0.974 | 32 |
8 | Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20.210 | +1.079 | 21 |
9 | Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:20.337 | +1.206 | 28 |
10 | Sutil | Sauber F1 Team | 1:20.505 | +1.374 | 18 |
11 | Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1:20.542 | +1.411 | 19 |
12 | Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:20.586 | +1.455 | 23 |
13 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:20.592 | +1.461 | 22 |
14 | Perez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:20.598 | +1.467 | 24 |
15 | Wolff | Williams Martini Racing | 1:20.769 | +1.638 | 22 |
16 | Van der Garde | Sauber F1 Team | 1:20.782 | +1.651 | 23 |
17 | Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:21.603 | +2.472 | 20 |
18 | Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:21.854 | +2.723 | 30 |
19 | Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team | 1:22.572 | +3.441 | 31 |
20 | Bianchi | Marussia F1 Team | 1:22.982 | +3.851 | 24 |
21 | Ericsson | Caterham F1 Team | 1:23.256 | +4.125 | 35 |
22 | Chilton | Marussia F1 Team | 1:23.299 | +4.168 | 22 |
