Max Verstappen says his rivals can talk all they like during Friday’s drivers’ briefing at the German Grand Prix, but he won’t be pressured into apologising for the clash with Kimi Raikkonen during last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
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But Hamilton, who took a sensational win in front of his home fans two races ago in Silverstone, will want to deny Rosberg that same satisfaction.
“I don’t think my teammate was pushing so we didn’t see what he can do and I expect a much tougher fight tomorrow”.
“The second session was good, [with] progress from the first one and, I think, pretty decent long runs”.
Formula One is back in Germany after a one-year absence, and it was here in Hockenheim where Michael Schumacher, the seven-time champion, triumphed on four occasions.
Jolyon Palmer, the British rookie who missed out on his first points finish in Formula One after spinning from 10th in Hungary, was replaced by Renault’s French reserve driver Esteban Ocon in first practice.
The German Grand Prix returns this weekend to the F1 calendar after a hiatus.
“He is in a good position”, the McLaren man told a Spanish radio station. “It is quite technical, not that easy to get everything right, and quite tough also to find the right balance of the auto because you have so many corners and different speeds, but it is definitely a fun place”.
“I disagree with that”, said Horner. Lewis is very strong on track – very fast, he never makes a mistake.
In a top-half of the timesheet which appeared to suggest the weekend would witness three distinct races in one, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg headed a closely-matched midfield battle.
Rosberg started the season superbly with four successive wins and was 24 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate after winning the European Grand Prix in Baku in June.
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At the other end of the grid, tail-enders Manor Racing have confirmed that Indonesian Rio Haryanto is to retain his seat for this weekend despite the end of his 11-races agreement with the team.
