The free practice was started with an overcast sky, and the traditional recognition lap with medium tyres but Fernando Alonso was stop in corner number 7 due to an electrical problem.
Like ever, we have 30 minutes with inactivity in the track but Jenson Button breaks this inactivity and makes the first fastest lap today in Nürburgring. Alonso again, in midsession, has the same technical problems, but this time the Spanish arrived at box.
The session was dominated by the Red Bull’s and the Mercedes cars.
Results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Tyre |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas | 1:31.745 | Medium |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas | +0.219 | Medium |
| 3 | Mark Webber | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | +1.035 | Medium |
| 4 | Adrian Sutil | Sahara Force India | +1.068 | Medium |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus F1 Team | +1.202 | Medium |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Scuderia Ferrari | +1.311 | Medium |
| 7 | Jenson Button | Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes | +1.385 | Medium |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | +1.459 | Medium |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | +1.506 | Medium |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes | +1.702 | Medium |
| 11 | Paul Di Resta | Sahara Force India | +1.739 | Medium |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber F1 Team | +2.056 | Medium |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | Scuderia Toro Rosso | +2.147 | Medium |
| 14 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | +2.222 | Medium |
| 15 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams F1 Team | +2.271 | Medium |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams F1 Team | +2.446 | Medium |
| 17 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber F1 Team | +2.683 | Medium |
| 18 | Charles Pic | Caterham F1 Team | +3.920 | Medium |
| 19 | Max Chilton | Marussia F1 Team | +4.233 | Medium |
| 20 | Giedo Van der Garde | Caterham F1 Team | +4.324 | Medium |
| 21 | Rodolfo González | Marussia F1 Team | +5.705 | Medium |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | Sense Temps | Medium |