Mercedes takes the lead in Austrian FP1
F1 Grand Prix, GP Austria, Red Bull Ring
Mercedes unsurprisingly came out on top as the first practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix came to an end. It was Nico Rosberg who went fastest, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest in the first Ferrari.
Williams' Valtterri Bottas was third fastest and may be in search for improvements as his team is eagerly targeting the front of the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix, following on from Williams' strong performance at this circuit one year ago.
It should be said though that performance wise, FP1 usually doesn't say a lot. In any case, Alonso, Merhi and Vettel didn't even get as far as running a solid first practice as all three were plagued with technical troubled that held them in pits for most of the session.
Results
| Pos. | .No. | .Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:10.401 | - | 36 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.709 | +0.308s | 28 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:11.028 | +0.627s | 22 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:11.452 | +1.051s | 26 |
| 5 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:11.633 | +1.232s | 28 |
| 6 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:11.642 | +1.241s | 31 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:11.724 | +1.323s | 29 |
| 8 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:11.825 | +1.424s | 38 |
| 9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:11.890 | +1.489s | 29 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:11.905 | +1.504s | 37 |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:11.948 | +1.547s | 32 |
| 12 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:12.004 | +1.603s | 34 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:12.031 | +1.630s | 36 |
| 14 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Lotus | 1:12.050 | +1.649s | 27 |
| 15 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:12.159 | +1.758s | 30 |
| 16 | 22 | Jenson Button | Mclaren | 1:12.920 | +2.519s | 30 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Mclaren | 1:13.272 | +2.871s | 10 |
| 18 | 28 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:13.937 | +3.536s | 29 |
| 19 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia | 1:15.459 | +5.058s | 11 |
| 20 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:15.684 | +5.283s | 4 |
