EL1: Rosberg ahead of Hamilton at Hockenheim

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) set the benchmark during the first practice session of the German Grand Prix where the best times were achieved with the super soft tires. The local driver completed a lap in 1’15”517 with 32 laps completed and ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton by three tenths.

The Ferrari were the closest even if Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen finished more than a second behind the W07 Hybrid. The hierarchy seems to be clearly emerging in the top ten since the SF16-H are ahead of the Red Bull de Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren de Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button and the Toro Rosso by Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Marcus Ericsson placed first in 11th position finishing ahead of the Williams de Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) finished in 14th place after having once again been in great difficulty on his VF16 with which he spun at the end of the session. Charles Leclerc, who replaced his teammate Esteban Gutiérrez, ranked 17th behind the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Pérez.

Esteban Ocon (Renault), replacing Jolyon Palmer, ranked 20th, half a tenth behind Kevin Magnussen (Renault) and Felipe Nasr (Sauber). The French test driver saw his tests disrupted by steering problems. Manor de Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein complete the list.

The second practice session for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim will be followed from 14 p.m. on Canal+ Sport.

Results of free practice 1 of the German Grand Prix