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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