NBC on Yahoo SportsNico Rosberg on top in first practice for German Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg has finished fastest in the first free practice session for this weekend’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
The Mercedes driver headed up a Silver Arrows one-two with Lewis Hamilton in second place, finishing less than one-tenth of a second behind his teammate.
Rosberg has firmly set his sights on winning this weekend’s race at Hockenheim as he looks to cap off a perfect week. Since the last race at Silverstone, he has got married, seen his home nation win the FIFA World Cup and also signed a new long-term contract with Mercedes.
He began his assault on the race weekend in good fashion during FP1, although Hamilton’s pace was very impressive too. As the two drivers resume battle for the lead of the drivers’ championship, the pressure is well and truly on.
Fernando Alonso came home in a solid third for Ferrari, some three-tenths adrift of Rosberg at the front, whilst Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel finished in fourth and sixth place. Jenson Button was the meat in the Red Bull sandwich in fifth as McLaren teammate Kevin Magnussen finished seventh ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn had an issue on his car at the beginning of the session that forced him to sit in the pits for some time, but the team soon resolved it and he managed to put in 21 laps.
The session saw Susie Wolff return to the wheel of the Williams FW36 for the first time since her ill-fated practice at Silverstone. At first, lightning appeared set to strike twice when her car began to slow on her out lap. It was soon diagnosed as a gearbox issue, forcing her to stay in first gear, but she did manage to crawl back to the pits and have the car repaired.
Once Wolff got back out on track, she put in a very respectable display, finishing 15th and just two-tenths of a second off the time of full-time Williams driver Felipe Massa.
Giedo van der Garde was the only other reserve driver to take part in the session, stepping in for Esteban Gutierrez at Sauber. He finished in 16th place, whilst Adrian Sutil finished 10th in the sister C33.
For the time being though, the spoils lie with Rosberg. Be sure to join us at 8am ET for the second practice session, available via Live Extra and online by clicking here.
If you can’t join us then, you can watch the encore on NBCSN at 2:30pm ET. For more information on our F1 broadcasting options this weekend, click here.
