No place like home as Nico Rosberg tops both sessions

Nico Rosberg

Hockenheim (Germany): Nico Rosberg ended the opening day of practice for his home German Grand Prix fastest of all, after topping both yesterday sessions in a perfect start to his weekend.

Nico Rosberg

Rosberg set his fastest time of one minute 15.517 seconds in yesterday's morning's opening 90-minute session, but maintained his stranglehold at the top of the timesheets with a lap only slightly slower in the afternoon.

Team-mate and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton was second in both sessions on a dominant day for Mercedes.
Ferrari, who announced a sudden parting of ways with their highly-regarded technical director James Allison on Wednesday, were the German marque's closest challengers.

Sebastian Vettel, making his first appearance on home soil in the team's scarlet colours, ended the day third fastest. The four time world champion, who was also third in the morning appeared to have closed the gap to the Mercedes pair in the afternoon, but was still 0.594 seconds adrift of Rosberg's benchmark.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen ended the day fourth-fastest ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

Force India pair Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez sandwiched Jenson Button's McLaren in seventh and ninth with birthday boy Fernando Alonso, who turned 35 yesterday, running out the top ten.

Button was taken to hospital for a precautionary check-up following practice after complaining of eye irritation. But the Briton later tweeted that he was okay and would drive in the remainder of the weekend.