British GP 2015

JULY 3, 2015

Practice 1 Report - Bounce Back

Nico Rosberg, British GP 2015
© Active Pictures

 

Free Practice 1 was a bounce back session for Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg who missed most of the session because of a gearbox problem but came back at the end to set the fastest time. FP1 certainly was a hit for Toro Rosso, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz ending up third and fifth.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Centigrade.)

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

In FP1, however, Susie Wolff replaced Bottas in the Williams; Raffaele Marciello took over Ericsson's Sauber, and Jolyon Palmer was in Grosjean's Lotus.

Stevens was the first out onto the 3.660mile (5.891-km) 18turn track.

12 minutes into the session, Rosberg set the first time 1:38.638 and Hamilton topped that with a 1:38.146. Rosberg responded with a 1:35.875.

15 minutes into the session, Hamilton spun and continued at Turn 15.

17 minutes into the session, Rosberg stopped at Turn 12 as his car lost hydraulic pressure.

19 minutes into the session, Nasr spun at Turn 3.

20 minutes into the session, Hamilton improved to a 1:35.536. He would lower that to a 1:35.391.

22 minutes into the session, Alonso and Button had done one lap each.

24 minutes into the session, Raikkonen moved into second place with a 1:35.700.

30 minutes into the session, the top 10 were: Hamilton who had lowered his time to a 1:34.815, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Verstappen, Kvyat and Massa.

32 minutes into the session, Rosberg's car was delivered back to the pits and the mechanics pushed it into the Mercedes garage.

37 minutes into the session, all the drivers were in the pits. Then just before the midpoint of FP1, Sainz and Verstappen broke the silence.

Midway through FP1 the top 10 remained: Hamilton, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Vettel, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Verstappen, Kvyat and Massa.

With 43 minutes remaining in the session, Verstappen went second with a 1:35.661, and then he did a 1:35.530.

With 36 minutes remaining in the session, Sainz moved into fourth with a 1:35.797.

With 34 minutes remaining in the session, Verstappen improved to a 1:35.530.

With 31 minutes remaining in the session, Alonso headed out for more laps.

With 30 minutes remaining in the session, the top 10 were: Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Vettel and Massa.

With 26 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton went faster with a 1:34.344.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo moved into 5th place.

With 11 minutes remaining in the session, Button did lap 2.

With 12 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton spun at Turn 6.

With 6 minutes remaining in the session, Rosberg, now with a new gearbox in his car, got back out on track.

With 4 minutes remaining in the session, Rosberg set a 1:35.151 to take second place.

With 1 minute remaining in the session, Rosberg grabbed first with a 1:34.334, which he then improved to a 1:34.274.

The top 10 at the end of FP1 were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Sainz, Vettel, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Hulkenberg and Massa.