Valtteri Bottas led another practice 1-2 for Mercedes, ahead of a strong performing Charles Leclerc. The entire session was filled with speculation as Lance Stroll was absent due to an illness.
Free Practice Report:
The first session of the Eifel GP finally took place as blue skies replaced the fog from yesterday. For the first time in 7 years, F1 took to the iconic Nurburgring and treated fans to a very busy session. With no running on Friday, the teams needed to collect as much data as possible.
Lance Stroll did not participate in the session due to developing an unspecified illness. It is currently unknown whether or not he will be able to take part in qualifying but speculation toward a replacement driver began almost immediately. Fuel was added to the fire as Nico Hulkenberg was filmed arriving at the track part way through the session. It seems that the German may have another opportunity to race this year, after standing in for Sergio Perez at the British and Anniversary Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ initial runs did not set the timings screens alight and the silver arrows appeared to struggle with tyre temperatures. Bottas took the fastest time with 12 minutes to go and Hamilton slotted in behind, only 0.136s off the pace. Numerous flying laps were spoiled as both drivers had off track excursions.
Verstappen showed strong pace and topped the timings for the first half of the session. His Red Bull looked very stable, but the Dutchman could only manage 4th, 5 places and 0.6s ahead of team-mate Albon.
Midfield Mayhem
Bizarrely, Ferrari won the tight midfield battle with a 3rd and 5th place finish. Encouraging signs after a season of woe for the Italian outfit. Just behind, Renault, Racing Point and McLaren seem to be on almost equal footing. Norris edged out Perez for 6th while Ricciardo finished just behind. Less than 2 tenths separated these 3 drivers. Gasly and Kvyat remain consistent in the Alpha Tauris, finishing 10th and 12th, sandwiching Ocon.
At the back of the grid Alfa Romeo and Haas won out over the Williams duo. The Ferrari powered cars had an unremarkable session but Raikkonen came out on top. Russell had a huge spin in sector 3 and was very lucky not to damage his Williams. Latifi had a similar issue at the end of the session, almost beaching his car on the final corner.
Yet again, Mercedes appear to have the upper hand. However, with changeable conditions, low temperatures and a lack of data, the Nurburgring may pose a few more challenges than initally expected.
Featured Image Credit: @MercedesAMGF1 Official twitter
