Nico Rosberg was fastest pipping his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in first practice ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Rosberg missed most of the session after a loss of hydraulic pressure forced him to stop on track. Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen managed to impress when he went third fastest on track.
Hamilton had been leading through the session until Rosberg returned to the track with five minutes remaining. Rosberg used better tyres and a better track conditions to beat his team-mate. Both drivers underlined the pace they have by going 1.2 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Verstappen going third fastest underlined a claim the teenager made yesterday that Toro Rosso were the second fastest team in terms of chassis performance. Verstappen was ahead of both Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel with his team-mate Carlos Sainz separating them.
Vettel’s former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat were seventh and eighth respectively. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and William’s Felipe Massa completed the top 10.
McLaren had a difficult day with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button ended up seventeenth and eighteenth.
