Mercedes’ Rosberg tops British Grand Prix Friday practice

The rain morning rain was predicted for the FIA Formula One event on the historic Silverstone Circuit in England but as the track dried during the afternoon practice, Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap time of 1:32.248 in his Mercedes to take the top spot for the day.

Rosberg said, “It was a pity for the fans that we didn't do much running this morning so it was good for them and for us that it was dry this afternoon.”

“On one lap the car is still quick, so qualifying should be okay. But the question mark is our race speed. We practised the race speed today and it felt decent so far. But it could be a completely different picture on Sunday as the weather should be a lot warmer, so we don't know where we are right now compared to the others. I'm still quite confident that we can have a good weekend in front of our fans, our colleagues and their families,” added Rosberg.

Mark Webber who will depart from Formula One at the end of the 2103 season was second best with a time of 1:32.547 for the Red Bull team. Webber moves to the FIA World Endurance Championship with Porsche LM P1 car next year which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We tried to do as much as we could in 90 minutes; we put both compounds on and did different fuel loads as well, so it was quite a demanding session for the team,” said Webber.

For now the Australian concentrates on scoring points and earning victories for the remaining Grand Prix events in Formula One.

Red Bull’s three-time champion, Sebastian Vettel turned his best lap at 1:32.680 for the third best lap; 0.432 of a second off the pace of Rosberg.

Vettel commented, “I think overall we can be pretty happy, it was a good day. Obviously it was important to get some laps in the dry as we expect dry conditions on Sunday. Now we need to have a look at what we can improve, have a look what the others did and then we’ll know a little bit more for tomorrow.”

Daniel Ricciardo topped the times during the rain session in the morning, and later ended sixth in practice 2 with a time of 1:33.171. A good showing for the Toro Rosso driver who is aiming to move up to the Red Bull team next year.

Said Riccardo, “I decided to do quite a few laps in the rain this morning, as I felt the track was safe enough and you can always learn something in those tricky conditions and I think it pleased the fans as well! This afternoon, we were pretty good in the dry, getting a good run on the Hard compound and improved further on the Medium. However, I had hoped our long run would be better, so we definitely have more work to do overnight, but generally a positive day.”