F1: Mercedes says FRIC absence noticeable

Mercedes Formula 1 duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have admitted that losing their FRIC suspension system had made life harder for them.

Although the pair were quickest in Friday's free practice sessions for the German Grand Prix, both men said that not having FRIC had caused complications.

"Finding the sweet spot with the car is just in a different place now," said Hamilton. "So we're really trying to get that right."

He reckoned the situation was also not helped by the hot track conditions that had proved challenging for the soft compounds that Pirelli has brought to Hockenheim

"It was difficult to find the balance with the track being so hot, and it's quite a tricky circuit in general," he said. "The car's a little bit different now because everyone's made some changes. The setup is in a different direction to what we had in the past but it's still good fun to drive."

When asked if the loss of FRIC could explain why Red Bull appeared to have closed the gap to Mercedes, Hamilton replied: "I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I couldn't tell you really."

Rosberg was convinced, however, that the loss of FRIC was going to shake up the competitive order.

"For sure it will shuffle things around a little bit without this FRIC system," he said. "There are some new challenges to re-balance the car and figure my way out to get happy in the car.

"There was good progress. I was happy in the car this morning and tried some different things."

Rosberg said that he had found his car did not feel the same running without FRIC.

"It's different, so we have had to work around it a little bit and adapt. It looked a bit closer out there, but Friday you never know what people are doing with fuel and things like that, so let's just wait and see for tomorrow and Sunday."