Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of opening practice at the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
The opening practice session of Bahrain is ultimately pointless for the teams and drivers as it takes place during daylight with qualifying and the race taking place at night-time.
Valtteri Bottas set the third fastest time of the session, he led with twenty minutes to go before the Ferrari duo moved ahead of the Finn.
Toro Rosso looked competitive as Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest and team-mate Max Verstappen sixth fastest.
Surprisingly, Fernando Alonso led the time-sheets early on however dropped to seventh fastest as other drivers completed their runs.
After a disappointing start to 2015, both Red Bull’s were inside the top ten in an encouraging session for the team.
Jolyon Palmer deputised for Romain Grosjean at Lotus. The reigning GP2 champion completed 31 laps and set the fourteenth quickest time, three tenths slower than Pastor Maldonado in the other Lotus.
The Mercedes duo were well down the time-sheets however as conditions are unrepresentative, we will see in second practice the true pace of the Mercedes’.
Jenson Button failed to set a time after suffering a mechanical issue.
Images Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari
