Nico Rosberg topped the final free practice session of the German Grand Prix weekend this morning.
The Mercedes man was the only driver to break the 1’18s marker, with his best (1:17.779s) coming eight minutes from the end of the sixty.
Rosberg’s closest markers was teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso; both of whom ended the practice six tenths adrift of the top spot.
Despite the loss of the current FRIC technology, the Mercedes appeared more confident, especially through the slow, lingering stadium section.
Alonso was initially quickest of the super-softs run, but was trumped – first by Rosberg and later Hamilton; however the Spaniard did suffer an unusual spin in the Arena section toward the halfway mark. The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen could do better than 8th after the Finn lost a portion of the session with a fuel system issue.
Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were 4th and 5th for Williams, with both the white and blue machines showing speed, despite occasional bouts of instability.
Kevin Magnussen lined up 6th in his McLaren.
The Dane ran well on the super-soft rubber, although teammate Jenson Button was less assured as he suffered numerous lock-ups in the braking zones. The best Button could do was a distant 13th.
The Red Bull’s assumed 7th and 9th, with Daniel Ricciardo heading Sebastian Vettel. Both the Renault-powered machines appeared to struggle with rear end balance under the Hockenheim sun.
Outside the top group, Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso, 11th) suffered braking issues, while Marussia’s Max Chilton lost most of the session following an electrical failure.
