Nico Rosberg finished the Friday practice sessions on top, heading up the times in FP2 from the Scuderia Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. The German was also third fastest in the FP1 session earlier in the morning, with a time he set on the medium rubber, whilst Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, who took first and second place in that session, were on the soft tyre compound.
Despite Ferrari getting the better of the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS squad in that first practice session of the weekend, Rosberg is confident they have plenty in the bag to keep the Maranello-based squad at bay, and is looking forward to the challenge ahead of qualifying and the race.
The Brackley-based squad trialled a new, pointier nose during today’s running, and the team and drivers are happy with the performance gains they have brought thus far. Rosberg also received a new ICE and MGU-K ahead of the race weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
“It’s great to be back in Europe and to be back in Spain. It was a good start for us today with two good practice sessions,” said Rosberg.
“Times were looking good on the longer and also on the shorter stints. I feel very comfortable with the car with some new parts added and they seemed to have worked well.
“Ferrari also look very strong around this circuit so I’m looking forward to Saturday’s third practice session as well as qualifying and to seeing how we can perform out there. “
