Austria: Rosberg leads Mercedes 1-2 in opening practice

Nico Rosberg fastest in FP1
Nico Rosberg fastest in FP1

Nico Rosberg turned the fastest lap in opening practice for the Austrian GP Friday morning at the Red Bull Ring.

The German turned a lap of 1m07.373s on the ultra-soft tires to finish 0.357 seconds clear of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel third 6/10ths back.

Hamilton set the early pace on the super-soft tires but was then Rosberg went 0.642s quicker.

Hamilton then had a spin at Turn 3 and Romain Grosjean spun to the inside to avoid contact.

Then Rosberg improved his leading time to a 1m07.373s on the ultra-soft tires before spinning into the gravel in turn 3.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth quickest, two tenths slower than teammate Vettel.

RESULTS:

Pos Driver Car/Engine Time Behind Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes/Mercedes 1m07.373s 0.000s 37
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes/ Mercedes 1m07.730s 0.357s 34
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari/Ferrari 1m08.022s 0.649s 28
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari/Ferrari 1m08.222s 0.849s 31
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m08.528s 1.155s 34
6 Carlos Sainz 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/Renault 1m09.707s 2.334s 24
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor/Mercedes 1m09.775s 2.402s 34
17 Jolyon Palmer Renault/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