Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix as the two Ferraris topped the standings.
In hot conditions at the Bahrain International Circuit, Raikkonen set a best time of 1:37.827 to beat team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.202s in FP1. Vettel's time came despite a problem early in the session as he reported a loss of power and spent a large chunk of time in the pits.
While conditions in FP1 and FP3 are very different compared to the second practice session, qualifying and the race - all which take place after sunset - Ferrari's team total of 25 laps shows a confidence in its starting position with the car.
Mercedes, on the other hand, was busy working on comparisons and long runs as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton ended the session in 15th and 16th places respectively. Both cars were running vastly different programmes than the rest of the field, being the first two to set a time and also lapping alone in the middle of the session as they completed 45 laps between them.
Valtteri Bottas was third for Williams, half a second off Raikkonen and at the head of a close chasing pack. The gap from Bottas to Pastor Maldonado in P12 was less than half a second, with Carlos Sainz Jr his closest challenger in fourth, 0.057s slower than the Williams.
While Fernando Alonso was seventh quickest for McLaren - 0.7s off Raikkonen's time - he appeared to be struggling with the handling as he ran wide at Turn 1 on more than one occasion. It was also a disappointing session for Jenson Button, who missed out on any serious running as a result of a technical problem with his McLaren.
Button had a strange looking spin at Turn 1 at the start of his second lap and was then unable to continue, having to leave the car and walk back to the pits. While the MP4-30 was recovered, McLaren was unable to get the issue rectified in time for Button to return to the track, with the team saying the car cut out in the incident.
A number of cars ran wide on what was a dusty circuit for the opening session, with Maldonado finding the gravel on the exit of the final corner. His Lotus team-mate for the session was Jolyon Palmer who did another solid job in only his second FP1 outing, finishing 0.4s adrift of Maldonado's best time.
FP2 will provide more of a form guide for this weekend, with the second practice session taking place at the same time as the race start at 1800 local time.
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:37.827 | 13 |
| 02 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:38.029 | 12 |
| 03 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:38.390 | 23 |
| 04 | C. Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:38.447 | 14 |
| 05 | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:38.455 | 17 |
| 06 | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:38.504 | 22 |
| 07 | F. Alonso | McLaren | 1:38.598 | 18 |
| 08 | F. Nasr | Sauber | 1:38.628 | 17 |
| 09 | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:38.661 | 17 |
| 10 | F. Massa | Williams | 1:38.790 | 21 |
| 11 | S. Perez | Force India | 1:38.793 | 15 |
| 12 | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:38.842 | 23 |
| 13 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.187 | 20 |
| 14 | J. Palmer | Lotus | 1:39.283 | 31 |
| 15 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.293 | 23 |
| 16 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:39.532 | 22 |
| 17 | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 1:39.534 | 21 |
| 18 | R. Merhi | Manor | 1:42.973 | 12 |
| 19 | W. Stevens | Manor | 1:44.265 | 15 |
| 20 | J. Button | McLaren | 2 |
