Austria – Free Practice 1: Rosberg and Hamilton Don’t Bury Their Heads in the Sand at Spielberg

It is under a cloudy sky that the Red Bull Ring circuit will host the first free practice sessions of the eighth Grand Prix of the 2014 Formula 1 season! It is a return for F1, which used this track until 2003. Some teams have not had access to this track in their simulator as purchasing it was too expensive. However, the sim racing enthusiasts in the paddock would have been able to tackle the Styrian track.

The drivers will have access, for this round, to the two softest tire compounds: the soft tires, with stripes whose yellow is reminiscent of the Jerusalem artichoke flower, and the super-soft tires, red.

The session is underway and it’s Felipe Massa who kicks things off! Kimi Räikkönen takes to the track in turn, with a particular feature as his Ferrari F14-T is equipped with a titanium plate meant to create authentic sparks intended to enhance the spectacle. Nico Rosberg is fitted with the same appendage.

The Monegasque-German, who had set the second fastest time behind his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, experiences a technical issue that slows him down considerably, to the point where driver No. 44 nearly collides with him. Rosberg’s engineer, who apparently suffers from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, the fear of long words, calls him back to the pits with a terse: Box, box, box.

After 20 minutes, Hamilton (1:12.255) leads Rosberg. Marcus Ericsson stops his Caterham on the track, a few meters after exiting the pit lane. Raindrops are reported on the track, not yet enough to fill a jar or even a test tube, but the situation will be closely monitored. Fernando Alonso, who was on a flying lap and leading in the second sector, goes too wide in the last corner and does not improve. Jean-Eric Vergne makes a similar mistake, but in the first corner.

After 30 minutes, Hamilton leads, ahead of Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Massa, Button, Alonso, Bottas, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and Kvyat. Calm has returned to the track as the drivers must return the set of tires that Pirelli provided for this first half-hour of practice. Despite the relatively cool temperatures, the crowd has turned out for the return of the spectacle in Spielberg.

On the Lotus side, a small technical-logistical issue is apparent: the Enstone team has attached wires coming out of the front of the cockpit to a suspension arm; Franck Montagny, speaking on Canal +, doesn’t seem convinced. On the Sauber side, Adrian Sutil – who, as a big fan of Uruguay, would have appreciated Luis Suarez’s two goals the previous day – is immobilized, and the work on the C33 shouldn’t allow him to get back on track this morning. He will be able to chat with Giedo van der Garde, the Swiss team’s reserve driver; the compatriot of Robert Doornbos is always present with the main drivers.

At mid-session, Jenson Button took the lead with a time of 1:11.839, over four-tenths ahead of Hamilton and Magnussen. The FOM’s thermal images show that the tires are gently warming up: not enough to make a pancake, though. Rosberg isn’t kidding around and takes the advantage over Button, with a half-second lead. Umbrellas are out in some stands: Ricciardo is informed that a few droplets are expected, a well-known way to say, in the idiom of the premier discipline, that the track shouldn’t be very wet.

After an hour, Rosberg is at the top of the time sheets, ahead of Button and Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel, in the last corner, makes a mistake and performs a superb double spin without touching the barriers. There is a certain polymorphism in the errors made on this old-school track: wide exits, going straight, missed braking… The rain, which has intensified somewhat, is not unrelated to this. Note that Lewis Hamilton improved his time and is now 0.140 seconds behind Rosberg.

New off, in the first corner, for Hamilton, followed moments later by Maldonado, who tastes the gravel in turn 3. Clearly, drivers are making errors as rabbits breed in cuniculture. This is all the more surprising as, with just a few minutes before the end of the session, most teams are conducting long stints loaded with fuel. Acclimatization to the circuit will undoubtedly be key.

The checkered flag is waved, without notable improvement. It is therefore the championship leader, Nico Rosberg, who sets the fastest time ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.