Rosberg completes Friday double at home Hockenheim track, 0.3s up on Hamilton; Ferrari ahead of Red Bull, but struggle on long runs
Monday 1 August 2016 15:40, UK
Nico Rosberg outpaced Lewis Hamilton for the second successive practice session to end the opening day of the German GP at the head of the timesheet.
Having seen Hamilton overturn his one-time 43-point championship lead over the last six races, Rosberg is in need of a strong result before F1's August break and on Friday held a consistent single-lap edge over his Mercedes team-mate.
As in Practice One, Rosberg proved 0.3 seconds quicker than Hamilton around the Hockenheim lap with a best lap of 1:15.614, to complete his third Friday double of 2016.
Mercedes' rivals closed the gap to the world champions in Practice Two, but Ferrari and Red Bull remained half a second adrift on pure pace.
Under-pressure Ferrari could take solace from outpacing Red Bull on Friday, with third-fastest Sebastian Vettel two tenths quicker than fourth-placed Max Verstappen. Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top six in the respective sister cars.
However, it was the Red Bulls which looked closer to the pace of Mercedes on the later race simulations.
"It looks like they are in the right zone on the soft tyres," said Sky F1's Anthony Davidson.
In a top-half of the timesheet which appeared to suggest the weekend will witness three distinct races in one, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg headed a closely-matched midfield battle.
The German and team-mate Sergio Perez had focused on running the slower medium tyre in P1, but were back in sync with their rivals in the afternoon with the pair seventh and ninth respectively.
The McLarens were shuffled down as a result, but maintained their top-10 positions from the morning - with Jenson Button their lead runner in eighth.
However, Button lost the final 20 minutes of the session after complaining of an eye irritation. After initially visiting the circuit's medical centre, the Briton has headed to the local Mannheim hospital for a precautionary check-up.
Practice Two timesheet
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:15.614
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:16.008
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:16.208
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:16.456
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:16.490
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:16.512
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:16.781
8. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:17.087
9. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:17.148
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:17.225
11. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:17.342
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:17.367
13. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:17.425
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:17.602
15. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:17.686
16. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:18.005
17. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:18.056
18. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:18.130
19. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:18.193
20. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:18.313
21. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:18.591
22. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:19.295
