German Grand Prix FP1 results: Ricciardo fastest after grid penalty, Hamilton close
GERMAN GRAND PRIX FP1 - Daniel Ricciardo just pipped Lewis Hamilton to be fastest for the opening practice session of the weekend.
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Ricciardo will start the race on Sunday from the back of the grid after he had a new MGU-K, energy store and control electronics fitted to his Red Bull car.
And the Australian proved he had the pace to challenge at Hockenheim with a stellar lap towards the end of the session.
Hamilton looked set to take the fastest lap before Ricciardo popped up with a 1:13.525 - just 0.004s faster than the four-time world champion.
The top six drivers were once again in close quarters with Raikkonen at the back of the group but just 0.7s back from Ricciardo.
Elsewhere there was a driver change in the Sauber garage with Antonio Giovinazzi stepping in for Marcus Ericsson, but he struggled to impress in the session, posting the second slowest time of the drivers.
There was plenty of chatter prior to FP1 regarding where drivers could be heading next following the news of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton signing contract extensions with Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc was also a hot topic with rumours suggesting he could be heading to Ferrari.
And he impressed, putting in a 1:15.097 to put him ninth - over a second quicker than Giovinazzi in the other Sauber.
German Grand Prix FP1 top ten
Ricciardo 1:13.525
Hamilton 1:13.529
Verstappen 1:13.714
Vettel 1:13.796
Bottas 1:13.903
Raikkonen 1:14.267
Grosjean 1:14.691
Magnussen 1:14.853
Leclerc 1:15.097
Hulkenberg 1:15.282