Bahrain GP P1: Kimi Raikkonen tops mixed-up opening session

Kimi Raikkonen led a Ferrari 1-2 in a mixed-up opening practice session for the Bahrain GP on Friday.

The Finn set the pace with a 1:37.827 lap around the 5.412km track, with Sebastian Vettel recovering from an engine problem to end up 0.202s slower.

However, with Valtteri Bottas third ahead of Carlos Sainz, it’s likely the timesheet will bear little relation to how it might appear later in the weekend because the conditions bore little relation to those expected for qualifying and the race.

Temperatures nudged 37 degrees C as cars took to the track at 2pm local time, although the track temperature, which stood at 52 deg early in the session, was falling by the time the chequered flag was shown.

It’ll be a whole lot cooler again by the time cars head out for P2 at 6pm – the time Sunday’s floodlit race starts – and as such, the running then should be more representative.

Pacesetters Mercedes completed plenty of laps but Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton ended up 15th and 16th respectively, more than a second off the benchmark time.  

An indication of how representative the session was might be drawn from the presence of Fernando Alonso in seventh place, with the Spaniard's McLaren-Honda briefly P1 midway through the session.

His time was soon beaten by Max Verstappen, who wound up sixth for Toro Rosso, while the likes of Force India's Sergio Perez (11th fastest) also headed the timesheets as the Silver Arrows opted to do their own thing.

Eighth fastest behind Alonso was the Sauber of Felipe Nasr, with the top 10 completed by Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) and Felipe Massa (Williams).

Further down the order, GP2 champion and Lotus reserve Jolyon Palmer headed the Silver Arrows with the 14th-fastest time but there was disappointment for Jenson Button, whose session lastest little more than a lap.

Heading into Turn One, Button's McLaren-Honda was pitched into a spin, with the Englishman soon to be found trudging back to the pits.  

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Sky Sports F1 that Button's car had suffered an "electrical issue, so the car shut down. It took some time to understand and then it was too late to get back out on track. We hope he will be ready for P2.”

Vettel also spent more time out of his car than in it. He went fastest early on but was told straight afterwards to head back to the pits.

Ferrari mechanics soon had the engine cover off his SF15-T, although the problem was rectified with the Malaysia GP winner returning for the final 15 minutes or so.

Practice One Timesheet

1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:37.827

2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:38.029

3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:38.390

4. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:38.447

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:38.455

6. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:38.504

7. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:38.598

8. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:38.628

9. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:38.661

10. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:38.790

11. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:38.793

12. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:38.842

13. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:39.187

14. Jolyon Palmer, Lotus, 1:39.283

15. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:39.293

16. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:39.532

17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:39.534

18. Will Stevens, Manor, 1:42.973

19. Roberto Merhi, Manor, 1:44.265

10. Jenson Button, McLaren, No Time