Nico Rosberg on top after opening free practice

Championship leader Nico Rosberg clocked the fastest ever lap at the Red Bull Ring as he topped the times in an incident-filled opening free practice for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix

Spielberg (Austria): Championship leader Nico Rosberg clocked the fastest ever lap at the Red Bull Ring as he topped the times in an incident-filled opening free practice for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg

The German, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Monday, recorded a lap in one minute and 7.373 seconds to outpace nearest rival and Mercedes team-mate defending three-time champion Lewis Hamilton by nearly four-tenths of a second. 

Rosberg has a 24-points lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Hamilton and this weekend is seeking his third successive victory in Austria since the event returned to the F1 calendar in 2014.

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