BUDAPEST: Lewis Hamilton took the early initiative when he topped the times as Mercedes dominated Friday morning’s opening free practice session for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 29-year-old Briton clocked a best time of one minute and 25.814 seconds in clear, dry and hot conditions at the Hungaroring circuit, set in a rural bowl of farmland 25 kilometers north of the Hungarian capital.

His best lap left him 0.183 seconds clear of his teammate Nico Rosberg and 0.6 seconds clear of the rest of the field as the action began at the final race weekend before F1 heads to the beach for its now-traditional August holiday.

Hamilton is seeking to complete a hat-trick of Hungarian wins and claim a record fifth at the event to regain ground on championship leader Rosberg in the title race. The German leads by 14 points after winning last Sunday.

Kimi Raikkonen shrugged off his indifferent form this year on his return to one of his favorite circuits to finish third-fastest ahead of his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.

Defending four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was fifth for Red Bull ahead of Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen of McLaren, Jean-Eric Vergne of Toro Rosso, Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull and Jenson Button in the second McLaren.

Felipe Massa of Williams was down in 10th as he returned to action five days after being tipped upside down in an accident at the first corner of last Sunday’s German Grand Prix.

Raikkonen finished on the podium in his last five races at the Hungaroring and his form will be vital to help Ferrari avoid extending their dismal run and making 2014 their worst start to a season since 1986.

Ferrari have secured only one podium this year.

Azerbaijan gets F1 slot in 2016

Meantime, Formula One commercial ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone on Friday confirmed that Azerbaijan will host a Grand Prix in Baku in 2016.

Event organizers in Baku announced the race in a statement and said it had been planned to run in 2015, but they had now shifted their debut on the calendar to 2016.

Ecclestone said: “We are very happy that Baku has joined the Formula One family. This will be a street race, which will pass through interesting and picturesque parts of Baku. The event will meet the current criteria.”

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov said: “I am delighted to officially announce that we have signed a contract to bring Formula One racing to Baku in 2016.

“Our location at the crossroads of eastern Europe and western Asia is a new frontier for Formula One. Azerbaijan is a modern European country that has established a reputation as a center of sporting excellence.

“The deal is a very significant new chapter in our ongoing success to attract the world’s largest sporting events to our country.”

The race will be on a street circuit to be designed by Austrian Hermann Tilke. The pits and start-finish straight will be at the city’s iconic Azadliq Square.