Nico Rosberg sets new Red Bull Ring lap record in Austrian Grand Prix practice

01 July 2016 10:23

Championship leader Nico Rosberg broke Michael Schumacher's 13-year-old lap record at the Red Bull Ring as he set the pace in opening practice for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Rosberg's best time of one minute and 07.373 seconds was nearly half-a-second faster than Schumacher posted here in qualifying in 2003, and 0.357 sec quicker than his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, the triple world champion, who on Thursday suggested that the mechanical woes which have blighted his season could cost him the title, endured a scruffy session.

Not only was the 31-year-old Briton comfortably slower than Rosberg, whom he trails by 24 points in the championship, but he was also among a number of high-profile spinners at a track which has been re-surfaced for this year's event.

Hamilton spun on the exit of turn three, and was almost collected by the Haas of Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman, following Hamilton, also lost control of his car as he tried to avoid the Mercedes, and came within a matter of feet of a rather embarrassing collision.

Max Verstappen also encountered problems in the opening 90-minute session. Firstly, the 18-year-old Dutchman broke part of his front wing when he ran over the so-called 'sausage kerbs' - introduced as a deterrent - on the exit of turn eight.

"The yellow kerbs in the fast corners are really dangerous," Verstappen said over the team radio.

But worse was to come for the Red Bull driver after he damaged his front suspension and then beached his car in the gravel at the exit of turn five. The newly-installed kerbs caught the Dutchman out again. "It is unbelievable this year," a red-faced Verstappen said as he sat in his Red Bull cockpit.

Sebastian Vettel was expected to trial a modified version of the 'halo' - the driver-head safety device expected to become mandatory next season - but an oil leak curtailed the early part of his session, and the safety device was not seen when Vettel finally emerged on track. The German, who faces a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, was third fastest, 0.649 seconds adrift of Rosberg.

Kimi Raikkonen was next up, while Daniel Ricciardo, who this week confirmed he will be staying at Red Bull until the end of 2018 despite interest from Ferrari, was fifth.

Ricciardo, presented a cake ahead of the session in honour of his 27th birthday, also ran off the track at turn six, but returned to his garage without sustaining any damage to his car. Jenson Button was 13th for McLaren, one place below his team-mate Fernando Alonso, while British rookie Jolyon Palmer was 17th in the order.

Source: PA