Sebastian Vettel back on top in Ferrari one-two - German Grand Prix FP1 Report
F1 News
Sebastian Vettel has put last year's performance at the German Grand Prix behind him and has topped FP1 with a 1.14.013 and a Ferrari one-two. It was a fairly uneventful session with many teams struggling with overheating and getting the tyres to grip. Ferrari will gain confidence with their one-two but there is still a long way to go if they are to win the German Grand Prix on Sunday.
The session started slowly with cars heading out only for a lap or two. Pierre Gasly had some issues early on with his car vibrating and this was put down to an issue with his steering.
Haas continued their disappointing run with Kevin Magnussen having an issue which saw him lose power, causing the session to be temporarily Red Flagged. However, it was just a sensor issue and after a few minutes in the garage, the Haas was back out on track.
Teams started to clock some fast laps with the two Mercedes leading the timesheet. The Silver Arrows really pushed it and it is thought that as FP2 is set to be even hotter and tomorrow it is set to rain, FP1 was the only session they could really get an accurate representation of their pace.
However, they pushed so hard that both drivers suffered some minor damage to their cars with the mechanics fixing them with tape. They will need to work out why the damage is happening and stop it in time for the race.
The midfield was incredibly close with the McLaren's, Racing Points, Hass's and Renault's all battling for position. Alfa Romeo would have been disappointed not to have been further up the grid and were battling with the Toro Rosso's for spaces at the bottom of the midfield.
With about 30 mins to go Ferrari really ramped things up and both Leclerc and Vettel headed out on flying laps with Vettel topping the time board with a 1.14.013.
At the bottom of the grid, Williams will be encouraged by their upgrades as Kubica was able to set some slightly more competitive times. They will hope to develop this further as they look to improve their pace.
Bottas ran into the gravel with one minute left but was able to drive out but the yellow flag was brought out. The Finn will be disappointed and finished the session in 5th.
Ferrari will gain major confidence from locking out the top of the leaderboard and will be desperate to continue this pace throughout the weekend.
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