FP1: Ferrari ahead at hot Hockenheim

F1 Grand Prix, GP Germany, Hockenheimring

The first free practice session at Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix weekend was a thing for the Ferrari drivers, as Vettel topped teammate Charles Leclerc to be fastest at the end of the 90-minute session.

With no cloud present, air temperatures reached up to 35°C, and even higher is expected later for FP2. Though luckily for Mercedes, some rain and 10°C less is expected for Saturday and Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton, who already claimed these high temperatures were an issue for his Mercedes W10, ended up third fastest. In a special livery to celebrate Mercedes Benz' 125 years involvements in motorsport, he was 3 tenths slower than Vettel's pace setting time while running on the medium tyres.

Max Verstappen was 4th fastest for Red Bull, ahead of Bottas and Pierre Gasly.

Behind the top three teams, Carlons Sainz was the best of the rest in the McLaren, albeit already a full second behind Vettel. Grosjean put Haas in the top 10, saving some hope for the beleagered team after a sensor issue on Magnussen's car already caused a red flag moment when a sensor issue halted his car 20 minutes into the session.

Whether the team will be happy with that result is questionable, as Grosjean was once again running the car in its Melbourne specification, lacking all possible upgrades that the team produces during the year.

Lance Stroll had an upgraded Racing Point to go 9th fastest, topping Daniel Ricciardo who completed the top 10.

At the very back, Williams were again 19th and 20th, but there was reason for optimism there, as Kubica, who was trialling the team's new upgrades - including a new floor and further changes to the barge boards - ended up just 2 tenths slower than Giovinazzi, and more than half a second up on his team mate.