F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hamilton ‘not worried’ about gap to Rosberg

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton says he is “not particularly worried” after Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg outpaced him in both Friday practice sessions for the German Grand Prix.

The Briton was over 0.3s behind his title rival in FP1 and saw the gap grow to nearly four tenths in the afternoon. Hamilton remains confident he can erase the deficit to Rosberg but admits it will be no easy feat given the German's form on home soil.

“That was just not a great lap, so I am not particularly worried,” the triple world champion said of the gap to the other Mercedes.

“I had good pace on the previous lap, it was just the one lap on the super-softs. I think overnight we should in a good position. It’s going to be close, for sure, Nico’s pretty quick here.

“FP2 didn’t feel very good. The beginning of the session felt quite good, the end of the session after FP1 felt OK. Then FP2 got worse and worse and worse with balance issue but I’ll rectify it hopefully.

“Nico’s feeling quite confident and calm in the car so it will be a good battle.”

When asked about whether it would be a special feeling to beat Rosberg at his home race on Sunday, Hamilton did not resist taking a dig at his team-mate.

“It’s going to be the same as wanting to beat him everywhere, but this is not his home really! With all due respect, he grew up in Monaco, so… That’s like if we had a race in Grenada saying it was my home, but actually I was born in England.

“But it’s the nation he claims and so it’s the one that will be most special to him, he’s got family so it will be special but I hope I stay ahead.”

REPORT: Rosberg maintains advantage over Hamilton in FP2

AS IT HAPPENED: Free practice for the German Grand Prix

Exclusive Alex Wurz Q&A: GPDA chairman "surprised" by Halo delay

Chris Medland's 2016 German Grand Prix preview

FEATURE: Halo: splitting opinion in F1

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

1 hour ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

3 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

4 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

5 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

6 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

7 hours ago