Mercedes GP had a good first day of their home Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg ended the day as fifth and sixth. Both were only 0.7 seconds off the pace of Mark Webber. Mercedes' Norbert Haug was very pleased with their performance: "A productive first day at our home Grand Prix," said the German after the second session. The day was cold but dry. A bit surprising says Haug: "Surprisingly it stayed dry, but the forecast still predicts rain for race day. We worked through our planned programme and evaluated all three different types of Pirelli tyre available to us today."

He continued: "Our race simulation at the end of P2 showed consistent lap times, which were of course still not quick enough compared to the top three teams. Our positions in the rankings today reflect more or less our current place in the pecking order."