Nico Rosberg dominates FP1 in Hockenheim and is also quickest in FP2

In the first practice session in Germany, Nico Rosberg set the pace ahead of Lewis Hamilton ans Sebastian Vettel as the teams and drivers return to the Hockenheim circuit after a two year absence.

During FP1, Valtteri Bottas had a spin during the session but was able to continue on running during the session.

But it was Nico Rosberg who was fastest with a lap time of 1:15.517 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second place who was 0.326 seconds behind him and ahead of Sebastian Vettel in third place who was 1.150 seconds behind Rosberg.

Rosberg’s lap was also a second faster than the his pole position lap at the same track two years ago, but still more than two seconds slower than Hockenheim’s qualifying lap record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004.

Kimi Raikkonen finished the session in fourth place ahead of Max Verstappen in fifth place, Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place, Fernando Alonso in seventh place, Jenson Button in eighth place, Daniil Kvyat in ninth place and Carlos Sainz Jr who rounded off the top ten finishers.

Marcus Ericsson ended the session in eleventh place ahead of Valtteri Bottas in twelfth place, Felipe Massa in thirteenth place, Romain Grosjean in fourteenth place and Nico Hulkenberg in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Sergio Perez ended the session in sixteenth place ahead of Charles Leclerc in seventeenth place, Kevin Magnussen in eighteenth place, Felipe Nasr in nineteenth place, Esteban Ocon in twentieth place, Rio Haryanto in twenty-first place and Pascal Wehrlein in twenty-second place.

The classification of FP1 for the German GP is as follows:-

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1.15.517
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 0.326s
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1.150s
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1.335s
5. Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 1.410s
6. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, 1.572s
7. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.666s
8. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 2.095s
9. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 2.491s
10. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 2.527s
11. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 2.681s
12. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 2.693s
13. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 2.805s
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 3.072s
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 3.074s
16. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 3.111s
17. Charles Leclerc, Haas Ferrari, 3.365s
18. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 3.416s
19. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 3.444s
20. Esteban Ocon, Renault, 3.464s
21. Rio Haryanto, MRT Racing, 3.650s
22. Pascal Wehrlein, MRT Racing, 4.458s **
Nico Rosberg continues to lead the way in FP2 in Hockenheim

In the second practice session in Germany, Nico Rosberg set the pace ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel; with Mercedes looking very comfortable at the top.

The two Mercedes drivers looked ominously fast throughout Friday, though its advantage over the next quickest car had come down from 1.1s in FP1 to 0.6s in FP2. However, given the fact the world champions often turn up the pace in qualifying it is a sizeable gap for its rivals to overhaul.

In the intra-team fight at Mercedes, Rosberg out-paced Hamilton by over three tenths as he made it a perfect Friday on his return to Hockenheim, where he won Germany’s last grand prix in 2014. It will be a welcome boost for Rosberg, who lost the championship lead to Hamilton in Hungary and has seen his teammate win five of the last six races.

But during FP2, Jenson Button’s session was significantly shortened by a trip to the local hospital for what McLaren later confirmed was an eye irritation. Sergio Perez finished ninth in the other Force India after getting airborne early in the session when re-joining the track at Turn 1.

But it was Nico Rosberg who was fastest with a lap time of 1:15.614 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second place who was 0.394 seconds behind him and ahead of Sebastian Vettel in third place who was 0.594 seconds behind Rosberg.

Max Verstappen finished the session in fourth place ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in fifth place, Kimi Raikkonen in sixth place, Nico Hulkenberg in seventh place, Jenson Button in eighth place, Sergio Perez in ninth place and Fernando Alonso who rounded off the top ten finishers.

Carlos Sainz Jr ended the session in eleventh place ahead of Daniil Kvyat in twelfth place, Valtteri Bottas in thirteenth place, Romain Grosjean in fourteenth place and Felipe Massa in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Esteban Gutierrez ended the session in sixteenth place ahead of Kevin Magnussen in seventeenth place, Marcus Ericsson in eighteenth place, Pascal Wehrlein in nineteenth place, Jolyon Palmer in twentieth place, Rio Haryanto in twenty-first place and Felipe Nasr in twenty-second place.

The classification of FP2 for the German GP is as follows:-

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1.15.614
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 0.394s
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 0.594s
4. Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.842s
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.876s
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 0.898s
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 1.167s
8. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.473s
9. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1.534s
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.611s
11. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1.728s
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1.753s
13. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1.811s
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 1.988s
15. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 2.072s
16. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas Ferrari, 2.391s
17. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 2.442s
18. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 2.516s
19. Pascal Wehrlein, MRT Racing, 2.579s
20. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 2.699s
21. Rio Haryanto, MRT Racing, 2.977s
22. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 3.681s

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa