Mercedes dominates FP1 as Ferrari debuts Halo 2 in Britain

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Lewis Hamilton edges Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the opening free practice for the British Grand Prix, as Ferrari runs Halo 2 on track for the first time.

Mercedes showed ominous pace in FP1 with its two drivers setting their fastest marks on the medium tyre and lapping 0.8s quicker than Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, who slotted into third on the soft compound. Hamilton's benchmark was a 1:31.654, with Rosberg only 0.033s adrift.

Fourth-placed Sebastian Vettel’s installation lap was more remarkable than others in that the four-time world champion debuted the updated version of the Halo cockpit protection device set for introduction in 2017.

Daniel Ricciardo set the early pace for Red Bull before sliding down to fifth at the flag. Team-mate Max Verstappen sat two spots behind with Kimi Raikkonen, who has been confirmed at Ferrari for 2017, sandwiched in between the two RB12s.

After its troubles in Austria, Force India placed two cars in the top 10 in FP1, as Sergio Perez logged the eighth quickest mark. The Mexican headed the lead McLaren-Honda of Fernando Alonso with Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat slotting into 10th.

Williams had a quiet opening session with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa only 13th and 14th respectively. Just ahead of them was Jenson Button in the second Honda-powered MP4-31.

FP1 was a fairly staightforward affair with only GP3 Series points leader Charles Leclerc triggering a brief yellow flag by spinning at Village on his Formula One debut with Haas. The 18-year-old Monegasque, also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, was making the first of his five scheduled FP1 outings with the US team.

The only other change from the usual driver line-up came from Esteban Ocon deputising for Kevin Magnussen at Renault. The Frenchman finished P19 and 1.2s behind British rookie Jolyon Palmer in 16th in the other R.S. 16.

After scoring his maiden championship point at the Red Bull Ring, Pascal Wehrlein could only manage the 21st time in FP1 but the 2015 DTM champion still outpaced team-mate Rio Haryanto, who won at Silverstone in GP2 Series last year, by half a second.

AS IT HAPPENED: FP1 for the British Grand Prix

NEWS: Ferrari confirms Raikkonen for 2017 F1 season

Chris Medland's 2016 British Grand Prix preview

From the cockpit: Felipe Nasr on back-to-back races

Technical analysis Austria

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Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
01	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:31.654	30
02	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:31.687	33
03	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:32.492	30
04	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:32.501	20
05	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:32.773	30
06	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:33.039	28
07	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:33.202	22
08	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:33.235	30
09	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:33.446	19
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:33.527	22
11	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:33.738	20
12	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:34.132	24
13	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:34.263	38
14	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:34.456	34
15	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:34.547	24
16	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:34.787	29
17	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:34.805	21
18	Charles Leclerc	Haas	1:35.869	26
19	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:35.980	31
20	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:36.003	19
21	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:36.136	25
22	Rio Haryanto	Manor	1:36.647	29