F1-EL1: Hülkenberg leads a disrupted session in Sochi

The first practice session for the Russian GP was disrupted by a deposit of diesel on the track which caused a delay of half an hour. The session thus only lasted an hour, the drivers not being able to use the additional Pirelli tires granted at the start of testing. In addition, the cars competed for a large part of the session on grooved tires, the cleaning having soaked the track which had become very slippery.

After taking advantage of the last minutes of the session to put on the soft tires, it's Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) who set the benchmark in 1'44"355 with half a tenth ahead of Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and four tenths of Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) is only seventh after being one of the many drivers to spin while increasing the pace.

The second practice session for the Russian GP will be contested from 13 p.m. (French time) and will be followed live on Canal+ Sport.