In front of Mercedes bosses, Toto Wolff wants the team to represent the team in a good light and to beat their closest rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.
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After losing the championship lead he had held all season last weekend in Hungary, Rosberg was quickly on the pace, leading the way early with a 1m17.030s.
Rosberg won the last Formula One race on the Hockenheim course two years ago and was 0.326 seconds faster than his Mercedes teammate.
The German, who won the opening four races but has not stood on the top step of the podium since last month’s European Grand Prix, heads into the weekend determined turn the tables back in his favour.
But the four-times world champion, whose team announced a split with technical director James Allison on Wednesday, was 1.1 seconds adrift of Rosberg’s time.
Behind the dominant Silver Arrows, Ferrari got the better of Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen marginally quicker than counterparts Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Fernando Alonso marked his 35th birthday by setting the seventh fastest time in his McLaren, 1.666 back.
Russian Daniil Kvyat was ninth for Toro Rosso ahead of his team-mate Carlo Sainz.
Ferrari-backed Frenchman Charles Leclerc took part in his third consecutive Friday morning session for American team Haas, slotting into Mexican Esteban Gutierrez’s vehicle. The top ten all set their best times on supersoft tyres, with the Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa – 12th and 13th respectively – the first two in the standings to post on the softs.
It would also hand him a crucial psychological edge over the reigning champion heading into Formula One’s annual summer break.
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When asked if he had an explanation for the recent change in results for him and his team mate, Hamilton said: “I think Nico’s been driving just as well as he has all year, it’s just I haven’t had any problems in the vehicle in the last six races”.
