Hockenheim, 18 July –Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen ended the first free practice session for the German Grand Prix in third and eighth places respectively. Both Scuderia Ferrari drivers covered 21 laps, although their sessions worked out quite differently.
Fernando set a best time of 1.19.423 during a trouble free session with no special problems. However, Kimi, who stopped the clocks in 1.20.210, had to contend with a water pump problem after just four laps. However, the Ferrari mechanics did a fantastic job to fix the problem and send the Finn on his way in double quick time.
It’s very hot today with track temperatures running at over 40 degrees, while there was little grip on what was a still dirty track, so quite a few cars went off. Quickest was Nico Rosberg in 1.19.131, which was just a whisker, 65 thousandths, faster than his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Splitting the two Ferrari men, we find Ricciardo, Button, Vettel and Magnussen. The second session starts at 14h00 local time.