Kimi Raikkonen responded to his doubters by kicking off his Russian GP weekend with the fastest time in Friday morning's first free practice session.
The Ferrari driver, who has come under pressure lately given his under-performance since the season got underway compared to team mate Sebastian Vettel, clocked in with a 1:36.074, edging out Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas by 0.045s.
Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, looking a bit uneasy all morning compared to his team mate, just in front of Red Bull racing's Max Verstappen.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was fifth after a spin late in the session while Daniel Ricciardo took sixth after a suspension change.
Renault reserve driver Sergey Sirotkin was hoping to make a good impression in front of his home crowd but was denied the opportunity when an engine issue halted his first lap out.
The session was briefly red-flagged when the engine cover blew off of Esteban Ocon's Force India.
Free Practice 1 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:36.074s | 19 | |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:36.119s | + 0.045s | 24 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:36.681s | + 0.607s | 23 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:37.174s | + 1.100s | 19 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:37.230s | + 1.156s | 19 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:37.290s | + 1.216s | 19 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:37.457s | + 1.383s | 29 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:37.900s | + 1.826s | 29 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:37.944s | + 1.870s | 30 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:38.065s | + 1.991s | 28 |
| 11 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:38.496s | + 2.422s | 17 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:38.747s | + 2.673s | 23 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:38.813s | + 2.739s | 16 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:38.976s | + 2.902s | 17 |
| 15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:39.158s | + 3.084s | 16 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:39.533s | + 3.459s | 17 |
| 17 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:39.541s | + 3.467s | 19 |
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1:39.731s | + 3.657s | 21 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:40.079s | + 4.005s | 20 |
| 20 | Sergey Sirotkin | Renault | 2 |
GALLERY: All the pictures from Thursday in Sochi
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
