F1-EL1: Mercedes on top at Silverstone, Williams suffering

The first free practice session for the British Grand Prix has already held several surprises. THE Mercedes are back in the lead with a best lap completed by Nico Rosberg in 1'35"424, seven tenths ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton slowed down by a yellow flag in his last attempt (following Marcus Ericsson's exit from the track). Only a new problem with the ERS cooling system slightly disrupted the Championship leader's tests. On the other hand, Williams had a disastrous start to his national event. Susie Wolff was only able to complete four laps before encountering an oil pressure problem while Felipe Massa hit the tire wall towards the pit entrance, seriously damaging his car who might not be ready for the afternoon session.

Fernando Alonso was the only one to be able to place himself within a second of the reference time even if the pilot Ferrari points at eight tenths. Daniel Ricciardo follows in fourth position ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and the Red Bull de Sebastian Vettel still three tenths behind the Australian who nevertheless encountered slight gearbox problems. Jenson Button follows the four-time world champion by a few thousandths, preceding the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Éric Vergne separated in half a tenth. Kevin Magnussen completes the top ten ahead of Sergio Pérez, the first driver more than two seconds behind.

Lotus F1 Team still seems to be off to a sluggish start. If Romain Grosjean In 12th place, his teammate Pastor Maldonado was only able to complete two laps before his car returned to the pits to be dismantled, presumably for an engine change. Esteban Gutiérrez is in 13th place ahead of Daniel Juncadella who replaced Nico Hulkenberg. Giedo van der Garde is in 15th place in the Sauber of Adrian Sutil who is ahead of the Marussia of Jules Bianchi. Robin Frijns replaced Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham but his session was disrupted by electrical problems.

The second free practice session for the British Grand Prix will take place from 15 p.m. (French time) and can be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr.