Felipe Massa kicked off his Bahrain Grand Prix weekend with the fastest lap of the opening practice session to nip ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso in second, just under a tenth slower.
The pair decided to hold off until the latter third before setting a flying lap, as the majority of teams opted to remain in their garages for much of the opening 30 minutes.
Nico Rosberg was Ferrari’s closest rival back in third, although his team-mate Lewis Hamilton could only manage 13th – thanks to his high-fuel runs.
Heikki Kovalainen made his return to Caterham, ending up six tenths slower than team-mate Charles Pic, whilst Rodolfo Gonzalez took over Jules Bianchi’s Marussia.
FP1 Times – 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:34.487 | 21 | |
| 02. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:34.564 | +0.077 | 20 |
| 03. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:34.621 | +0.134 | 21 |
| 04. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:34.790 | +0.303 | 20 |
| 05. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:34.949 | +0.462 | 17 |
| 06. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:35.069 | +0.582 | 24 |
| 07. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:35.101 | +0.614 | 14 |
| 08. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:35.119 | +0.632 | 21 |
| 09. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:35.345 | +0.858 | 17 |
| 10. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:35.611 | +1.124 | 15 |
| 11. | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:35.640 | +1.153 | 16 |
| 12. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:35.783 | +1.296 | 19 |
| 13. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:35.792 | +1.305 | 22 |
| 14. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:36.014 | +1.527 | 21 |
| 15. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:36.485 | +1.998 | 19 |
| 16. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:36.498 | +2.011 | 20 |
| 17. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:36.755 | +2.268 | 20 |
| 18. | E. Guiterrez | Sauber | 1:37.214 | +2.727 | 22 |
| 19. | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:37.850 | +3.363 | 16 |
| 20. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:37.401 | +3.914 | 18 |
| 21. | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:39.445 | +4.958 | 21 |
| 22. | R. Gonzalez | Marussia | 1:40.215 | +5.728 | 20 |
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