Photo: Tamara Aller

René Rast dominates first free practice in strong start to the weekend

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Audi Sport and René Rast had a strong start to the season finale at Hockenheim with the reigning champion and team-mate at Team Rosberg Jamie Green topping the lap charts.

Rast set a best lap time of 1:33.780, 0.171 seconds ahead of his team mate, with Daniel Juncadella, in third the fastest among the Mercedes-AMGs, with fellow Team HWA driver Pascal Wehrlein in fourth, 0.270 seconds off the pace.

Audi Sport Team Phoenix’s Loïc Duval was fifth, with the BMW contingent of Timo Glock, Joel Eriksson, Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus next, with the Brazilian half a second behind the reigning champion.

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline’s Nico Müller completed the top ten, 0.524 seconds off the pace.

It was a quiet session for the championship leaders, with Mercedes-AMG drivers Paul di Resta and Gary Paffett 13th and 15th respectively. Fellow Team HWA driver Edoardo Mortara couldn’t complete any laps due to an electrical problem.

Rast said after the session: “Obviously a positive start, P1 is always good. I still got left a bit of work to do in the car, it was tricky for everyone, but it was a good session and, hopefully, we can continue like this tomorrow.”

Action resumes tomorrow with second free practice scheduled for 9:00 CEST.