Lotus grabbed most headlines in Germany on Friday, becoming the first team to run a Mercedes-like Super DRS concept. However, the Enstone-based team was unable to make full use of its new parts because of the poor weather conditions at Hockenheim.
Having been the only squad to lodge an official protest against the Mercedes innovation, failing to get a result, Lotus has been developing its own version over the past four months. In opening practice today, Räikkönen’s sole lap time was compromised by yellow flags for Valtteri Bottas’ stricken Williams. More rain curtailed running in the afternoon and, furthermore, showers are also forecast for Saturday.
“We didn’t learn a lot today, with the weather conditions as they were,” said Räikkönen, whose new haircut had grabbed more trivial attention amongst fans a day earlier. “It was like Silverstone, when we also didn’t have very good conditions.
“We tried a few different things, which I think some people noticed today. It would have been nice to have some more dry track time but you can’t do anything about that. The track does feel quite slippery when it’s wet; it’s definitely not very grippy in these conditions.
“Overall, it was a pretty normal Friday when you try different things and get as much running as the weather allows.”
As Räikkönen ended the day in tenth position, team-mate Romain Grosjean was fifth.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  P. Maldonado | Williams | 01:27.476 | 14 |
| 2. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:27.564 | 24 |
| 3. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:27.902 | 24 |
| 4. | S. Perez | Sauber | 01:28.402 | 26 |
| 5. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:28.420 | 20 |
| 6. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 01:28.495 | 22 |
| 7. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 01:28.513 | 23 |
| 8. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:28.516 | 16 |
| 9. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:28.877 | 21 |
| 10. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:29.327 | 22 |
| Full results | ||||
| Kimi Räikkönen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Kimi Räikkönen photos | |||
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