Vettel and Raikkonen set pace on softs, but Mercedes stick with mediums; Red Bull debutant Verstappen sixth, just behind Ricciardo
Friday 13 May 2016 12:45, UK
Sebastian Vettel gave under-pressure Ferrari an early Spanish GP boost by leading a one-two for the team in opening practice, as Max Verstappen made a promising debut for Red Bull.
However, the devil was in the detail where the P1 order was concerned, as although Ferrari outpaced the Mercedes cars, they used the quicker soft tyres whereas the world champions did not.
Underlining the unrelenting rate of development in F1 on a weekend when most teams are introducing upgrades, Vettel's quickest time of 1:23.951 on a 'green' track was already seven tenths of a second quicker than last year's Barcelona pole lap. He outpaced team-mate Kimi Raikkonen by 0.138 seconds.
Championship leader Nico Rosberg was half a second back in third place, but Mercedes ran exclusively on the slower medium compound, just as they did in winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. The softs which Ferrari used are worth 0.5-0.8s in lap time.
Lewis Hamilton, who trails team-mate Rosberg by 43 points heading into the first European round of the season, was fourth, a tenth adrift of the German as the team trialled a new 'pointy' nose on the W07.
Meanwhile, with the Red Bull driver swap story having dominated build-up to the race weekend, Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat got down to on-track business at their respective new teams.
On his first ever outing in the RB12, Verstappen finished sixth quickest with his best time just a tenth slower than Red Bull regular and new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
"I'm impressed by what he's done there in that session. I think he'll be pretty pleased with that," said Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson.
Verstappen's session had got off to a slightly shaky start, as he ran off the track at Turn One at the end of his opening flying lap and damaged his first set of tyres. On his next run, the 18-year-old then reported he was "having problems accelerating", which promoted a swift return to the pit lane so the Red Bull mechanics could investigate.
Having been removed from the main Red Bull line-up, Kvyat's first session back in a Toro Rosso car for 18 months saw him finish 12th, four places and half a second back on his new stable-mate Carlos Sainz.
Both Red Bulls finished ahead of the Williamses, who were seventh and ninth with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa respectively, with Fernando Alonso 10th for McLaren.
The Woking team, fresh from a double points finish of 2016 in Russia, have made a number of changes to their MP4-31 chassis for this weekend - with the arrival of a new front wing catching the eye.
"It has grown an extra set of cascade wings, like an extra set of fingers sprouting out," said an impressed Ted Kravitz. "It is brilliant, this is the most intricate front wing I have ever seen.
"The other new bits for McLaren are new brake ducts, a new floor, new diffuser and a new rear wing as well."
Young Frenchman Esteban Ocon made his practice debut for Renault, but the 19-year-old's session proved a near write-off thanks to technical problems. He finished bottom of the order without a time.
Britain's Jolyon Palmer, who is thought to be coming under pressure for his seat from Ocon, returns for Practice Two, which begins at 1pm BST live on Sky Sports F1.
Practice One timesheet
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:23.951
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:24.089
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:24.454
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:24.611
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:25.416
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:25.585
7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:25.672
8. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:26.078
9. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:26.186
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:26.243
11. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:26.576
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:26.583
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:26.938
14. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:27.064
15. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:27.253
16. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:27.258
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:27.283
18. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:27.392
19. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:27.610
20. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:28.084
21. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:29.052
22. Esteban Ocon, Renault, No time
Watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.
