Both drivers clocked up a session high of 28 laps, with Rosberg down in eighth
place on the timesheet, eight tenths of a second adrift of German compatriot
Vettel.
As for Hamilton, the 28-year-old Briton was 13th and 1.434secs back on
Vettel’s lap of one minute 22.723secs.
Behind the Red
Bulls were Vettel’s main title rivals in Kimi Raikkonen in his Lotus
and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, both just under four tenths of a second
adrift.
Trailing by 41 and 34 points respectively, both men know they have to close
the gap to Vettel this weekend ahead of the looming summer shutdown that
follows this event.
Romain Grosjean was fifth in his Lotus, followed by Jenson Button for McLaren,
the 33-year-old Briton 0.647secs back.
With team-mate Sergio Perez ninth, a further two tenths of a second off the
pace, McLaren appear to have taken a step forward, although it is too early
to suggest whether they will be closer to the leaders this weekend.
Force India’s Adrian Sutil, on the occasion of his 100th grand prix, was
seventh, 1.2secs ahead of team-mate Paul Di Resta who was a surprisingly
lowly 18th.
Marussia’s Max Chilton sat on the sidelines for the session as the team’s
reserve Rodolfo Gonzalez took up his seat.
The Venezuelan, however, was last and 6.2secs down on Vettel, and 1.3secs
adrift of team-mate Jules Bianchi.
First practice times:
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 22.723secs
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:22.982
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:23.010
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:23.099
5 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:23.111
6 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:23.370
7 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:23.390
8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:23.531
9 Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:23.591
10 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:23.911
11 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber 1:24.119
12 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:24.150
13 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1:24.157
14 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:24.204
15 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:24.299
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber 1:24.314
17 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso 1:24.383
18 Paul Di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:24.608
19 Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham 1:25.827
20 Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham 1:26.808
21 Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:27.617
22 Rodolfo Gonzalez (Ven) Marussia 1:28.927
(Edited by Giles Mole)