Rosberg edges Hamilton in first session at Sochi

2014 Russian Grand Prix first practice

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Formula One may be racing at a new circuit this weekend but the same two cars appeared at the top of the times sheets at the end of first practice in Russia.

Nico Rosberg led the usual Mercedes one-two, less than seven hundredths of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton at the end of the first 90 minutes of running at the Sochi Autodrom.

Rosberg was the first driver to complete a timed lap around the circuit, despite a brief off at turn 13. The lap times improved quickly as the track began to clean up.

Jenson Button set the quickest time initially, heading the times when the drivers returned to the pits after the half-hour mark to return their first set of tyres. He ended the session within two-tenths of a second of Rosberg’s time.

Button had a spin later on in the session, as did Caterham test driver Roberto Merhi, but none of the drivers hit the barriers during the first session at Sochi.

Kevin Magnussen struck a bird, however, and had to return to the McLaren pits to have the mess cleaned up. He made it two McLarens in the top five, separated by his team by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

Sergey Sirotkin made his first appearance in an F1 car for Sauber, joining Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, meaning there were two Russian drivers on the track as their country’s inaugural race weekend began.

The sole Marussia of Max Chilton ended the session at the bottom of the times.

Pos.No.DriverCarBest lapGapLaps
16Nico RosbergMercedes1’42.31129
244Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’42.3760.06525
322Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’42.5070.19628
414Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’42.7200.40927
520Kevin MagnussenMcLaren-Mercedes1’43.0260.71528
611Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’43.1290.81826
726Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Renault1’43.1640.85329
87Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’43.2120.90123
938Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Renault1’43.3271.01624
1077Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes1’43.5421.2319
1119Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’43.7411.43022
123Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-Renault1’43.8211.51025
1327Nico HulkenbergForce India-Mercedes1’43.9761.66521
141Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’44.5062.19530
1599Adrian SutilSauber-Ferrari1’44.6252.31426
1613Pastor MaldonadoLotus-Renault1’44.8762.56526
1737Sergey SirotkinSauber-Ferrari1’45.0322.72122
188Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’45.1902.87925
1945Roberto MerhiCaterham-Renault1’46.7824.47118
209Marcus EricssonCaterham-Renault1’46.9224.61118
214Max ChiltonMarussia-Ferrari1’47.2844.97326

Image © Red Bull/Getty

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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24 comments on “Rosberg edges Hamilton in first session at Sochi”

  1. Button pace looked really good especially because of that late spin he didn’t have real chance to try to beat his first top time.Was it fuel or just traction+engine power=fast time?If car have good pace here where is not so much downforce that matters it only show how bad that MCL car is designed(again).But still happy for their show of pace for what ever reason.

    1. I think its a track that might suit the McLaren, although it should also be fine for Williams, someting that is not really showing so far (maybe Bottas not having that set of tyres available did that for them)

      1. Williams don’t show their true pace on Friday, do they.

    2. One speculation was that this shows how good the McLaren simulator really is.

  2. Have to say I actually quite like this track, Especially from the OnBoard’s it looks like a fun, challenging & technical track to drive with some interesting bits.

    Turn 1 looks quite bumpy, The long left at turn 3 is just about flat with cars moving around a bit through the middle/exit, Some of the medium speed stuff through sector 2 looks quite technical/challenging & the left sweeping braking zone into turn 11 looks quite tricky & interesting. I also think the turns 13/14 chicane is quite tricky as there’s a smallish hump in the middle & lots of cars drivers were making little errors there.

    Looking forward to getting to drive round it myself in the Sim-world in the F1 game next week

    1. “fun, challenging & technical track”

      @stefmeister What does this even mean? You could say that about all the circuits on the calendar…

      1. Adbu Dhabi? Bahrain?

      2. it means what he said, haven’t you ever heard describing words before that you have to ask what does it mean????? its one persons opinion – people are allowed oppinions in this forum.

  3. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    10th October 2014, 8:46

    Drivers seem to be taking liberties with the kink just after T2. I wonder if Charlie will crack down on this. Feels like more legitimate form of cheating since they’re actually shortening the race track beyond the white lines, rather than just running wide on the exit to carry more speed.

  4. McLaren looking strong, good platform for Button and Magnussen to make their cases for a re-signing!

    1. If Alonso wants to go to McLaren, there’s not much either Button or Magnussen can do IMO.

      1. Yeah that is what they said too when Button went to MCL who was Hamilton’s home from where he kicked certain double world champion just a year ago.There were talks about “trashing” and other stuff…well i didn’t exactly saw any trashing of Button in their 3 years together…considering it was clearly Hamilton’s team where he already spent two years and won WDC in 2008.Ham and But were pretty evenly matched except for early/middle part of 2012 season where Button really struggled to got on grips with that year tires.I would say that Button biggest problem is sensitivity to car balance and that Hamilton and Alonso sure have more ability to get more from bad car but when car is to his liking i don’t see much between Button and those two,Ham has edge in Saturday on him Alonso not that much,Button race pace if car is right is great and if he has good Saturday he is always there…disagree as much as you like on that.

        1. For MCL Alonso-Button combo would be best and Kevin could be reserve driver if they really want him or they could send him to some lower team if seat is available with option to go back to MCL cause question remains how much longer would Button race and even Alonso considering his age.I don’t think Kevin showed much this season to just ditch reliable driver like Button who is even marketable/has connections with Honda/Japan.

          1. I think Button earns his place at McLaren, but you have to be fair: Magnussen is still a rookie. Name one driver that did not improve significantly in his second year.

          2. The Blade Runner (@)
            10th October 2014, 9:39

            I agree with you that ALO/BUT is probably be the best combination, although not entirely for racing reasons.

            MAG has shown genuinely ability this season and has been a little unlucky with penalties which have affected his points tally. Whilst it would be a shame to see him “demoted” I think the combination of abilities that ALO and BUT bring plus their sheer marketability makes them the ideal pairing.

          3. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
            10th October 2014, 9:44

            I kind of like the idea of having BUT-ALO at McLaren-Honda next year, with Magnussen being put in a support role or maybe even at another team. In 2015, Honda will then have about the most experienced driving pairing possible I think. In 2016, Button wil retire, and MAG will come back and harvest the fruits of the development work done in 2015.

  5. Not a bad first run from Sirotkin I must say.

    1. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
      10th October 2014, 10:35

      Puts Verstappen’s into perspective ;)

  6. Ah Bathurst and F1 this weekend, I dont think my Mrs is going to get much out of me the next couple of days.

    1. The Blade Runner (@)
      10th October 2014, 10:40

      @murray1964

      Russian GP and Japanese MotoGP… I reckon the divorce papers are waiting for me when I get home!

      1. Yes, need to get priorities right

      2. Yes dear, just sign them and stick them in my intray, I’ll deal with them after the GP!

  7. Good Lord, why is Ericsson still in F1?!! First Lotterer annihilated him at Spa and now even Merhi shows him how to do it!

    1. there isn’t room in f1 for every driver in the world.

Comments are closed.