Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the quickest man on the opening practice day for the Bahrain Grand Prix, topping the timing screens ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Key Points from FP1:
– The hot afternoon track temperature, which peaked at 54ºC, won’t give an accurate picture for qualifying which is run at dusk.
– Raikkonen’s 1:37.827 was over two-tenths quicker than Vettel could manage in the SF15-T.
– Nico Rosberg finished just 15th with team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind in 16th. The pair were well over a second slower.
– Mercedes chose to focus on long runs in an attempt to better undestand their tyre wear in the hot climate of Bahrain.
– Early trouble for McLaren-Honda as Jenson Button fails to set a timed lap after his engine shutdown as he approached T1, resulting in a spin which ended his session.
– Fernando Alonos enjoyed a better session though, finishing seventh quickest, just seven-tenths down.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 01 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:37.827 | 13 | |
| 02 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:38.029 | 0.202 | 12 |
| 03 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:38.390 | 0.563 | 23 |
| 04 | C. Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:38.447 | 0.620 | 14 |
| 05 | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:38.455 | 0.628 | 17 |
| 06 | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:38.504 | 0.677 | 22 |
| 07 | F. Alonso | McLaren | 1:38.598 | 0.771 | 18 |
| 08 | F. Nasr | Sauber | 1:38.628 | 0.801 | 17 |
| 09 | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:38.661 | 0.834 | 17 |
| 10 | F. Massa | Williams | 1:38.790 | 0.963 | 21 |
| 11 | S. Perez | Force India | 1:38.793 | 0.966 | 15 |
| 12 | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:38.842 | 1.015 | 23 |
| 13 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.187 | 1.360 | 20 |
| 14 | J. Palmer | Lotus | 1:39.283 | 1.456 | 31 |
| 15 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.293 | 1.466 | 23 |
| 16 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:39.532 | 1.705 | 21 |
| 17 | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 1:39.534 | 1.707 | 21 |
| 18 | W. Stevens | Marussia | 1:42.973 | 5.146 | 12 |
| 19 | R. Merhi | Marussia | 1:44.265 | 6.438 | 15 |
| 20 | J. Button | McLaren | No time | 2 |
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