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F1 Austrian GP: Rosberg leads Mercedes team-mate Hamilton in FP1

Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team-mate and Formula 1 title rival Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time in first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix

The German clocked a 1m07.373s on the ultra-soft tyres to finish 0.357 seconds clear of Hamilton, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel a further three tenths adrift.

Hamilton set the early pace on the super-soft tyres but was then usurped by Rosberg, who went 0.642s quicker.

Hamilton then had a spin at Turn 3 and as his car slid back onto the track, Romain Grosjean spun to the inside to avoid contact.

When attention switched to the ultra-soft tyres, Rosberg improved his leading time to a 1m07.644s and then after a cool down lap went nearly three tenths quicker again.

The German, whose leading time was 1.1s quicker than last year's pole lap, then had an off-track excursion when he slid into the gravel at Turn 3 before rejoining.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth quickest, two tenths slower than team-mate Vettel, who did not run the second-generation halo cockpit protection device as anticipated.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, one of a number of drivers to skate off track, was fifth having set his time on the super-soft tyres and Carlos Sainz Jr sixth.

Ricciardo survived a wild moment as Marcus Ericsson got sideways as he tried to stay to the inside of Turn 8 to take the pit entry and slid his Sauber across the white line.

The Australian, who was on the outside, got out of shape and took to the run-off, saying on team radio that "it wasn't his fault" but Ericsson was put under investigation by the stewards.

Felipe Massa was the leading Williams in seventh, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who had a messy session.

The teenager lost his left-front endplate after bouncing over the raised exit kerb at Turn 8 and told his team the kerbs were "dangerous".

He then ran wide and hit them again at Turn 6, damaging his steering, which sent him into the gravel to end his session early.

Daniil Kvyat and Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10.

Grosjean made a late improvement to move up to 11th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

FIRST PRACTICE RESULTS:

Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m07.373s - 37
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m07.730s 0.357s 34
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m08.022s 0.649s 28
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m08.222s 0.849s 31
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m08.528s 1.155s 35
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso/Ferrari 1m08.803s 1.430s 34
7 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m08.824s 1.451s 39
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault 1m08.962s 1.589s 21
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Ferrari 1m08.990s 1.617s 32
10 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 1m08.998s 1.625s 40
11 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m09.078s 1.705s 34
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India/Mercedes 1m09.280s 1.907s 43
13 Jenson Button McLaren/Honda 1m09.365s 1.992s 31
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m09.567s 2.194s 30
15 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1m09.707s 2.334s 24
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor/Mercedes 1m09.775s 2.402s 34
17 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m09.851s 2.478s 28
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m09.929s 2.556s 35
19 Esteban Gutierrez Haas/Ferrari 1m10.110s 2.737s 20
20 Felipe Nasr Sauber/Ferrari 1m10.314s 2.941s 26
21 Rio Haryanto Manor/Mercedes 1m10.493s 3.120s 21
22 Alfonso Celis Force India/Mercedes 1m10.860s 3.487s 37

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