Germany – Free Practice 1: Mercedes Marks Its Territory

It’s cool this morning at the Nürburgring circuit. The thermometer shows a mere 16 degrees in the air with the track at 19. Note that Jules Bianchi is not participating in this first session. The Frenchman is replaced by Rodolfo Gonzalez at the wheel of the Marussia this morning.

Session that starts badly for Fernando Alonso who stops his Ferrari at turn number 5, after only a few meters, due to a gearbox problem. On the pit wall, Pat Fry looks grim while the marshals evacuate the F138 under Alonso’s watchful eye.

The first time is credited to Lewis Hamilton with a 2:16.935. A not very significant time that will be widely improved upon later. However, it will take a very long wait before another driver sets a time in this first free practice session.

Jenson Button marks the beginning of serious action after almost 30 minutes of testing. The British driver sets a time of 1:39.929 at the wheel of his McLaren. On the following lap, the 2009 world champion improves by nearly 6 seconds. Other drivers finally decide to break the silence. Grosjean, Pérez, Webber, and Ricciardo start attacking the clock.

With 52 minutes remaining, it’s Mark Webber who takes the top of the timesheet. 1:33.047 for the Australian. At this moment, only 10 drivers have a time.

At mid-session, Webber is still holding the fastest time ahead of Vettel, Button, Rosberg, and Massa. Fernando Alonso is back on the track for a verification lap, but it seems that things are still not going as planned with the double world champion’s car, as he immediately returns to his garage.

Second half of the session more lively than the first. The Mercedes drivers step up the pace and take control. Hamilton leads with a time of 1:32.349, ahead of Rosberg with 1:32.552. The German closes in on his teammate a few minutes later by completing a lap in 1:32.052. But Hamilton responds and improves to widen the gap to 3 tenths. Behind them, Räikkönen is at a significant distance, conceding more than a second to the British driver.

At Red Bull, work is being done on the exhausts of Sebastian Vettel’s RB9, who is patiently waiting in his cockpit.

With 30 minutes remaining in the first free practice, Lewis Hamilton remains ahead of Rosberg, Räikkönen, Webber, and Sutil. The Mercedes driver set the fastest time with 1:31.754. Fernando Alonso and Max Chilton do not have a time yet. Chilton rectified this 24 minutes before the end and placed last behind Gonzalez. Almost simultaneously, Gutierrez treated us to an impressive tire smoke display while braking at the circuit’s first corner.

At the start of the last quarter hour, Webber and Sutil gain a position at the expense of Kimi Räikkönen, who ended up putting gravel on the track on the final straight of the circuit. The Finn appears to be equipped with the DRD (a type of double DRS).

The session ends with the fastest time by Lewis Hamilton at 1:31.754. He is ahead of Rosberg, Webber, Sutil, Räikkönen, Massa, Button, Vettel, Grosjean, Pérez. It should be noted that due to gearbox problems, Fernando Alonso only completed 2 laps and does not have a recorded time.

Results of Free Practice 1 of the 2013 German Grand Prix

From our special correspondent at the Nürburgring