Ferrari were the team to beat in opening practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Unlike the Mercedes duo, who used the medium tyres, Ferrari opted to use the soft tyres for the duration of the session. Come the close of the session, Vettel ended FP1 0.138s clear of Raikkonen.
Nico Rosberg was 0.503s shy of Vettel’s benchmark albeit on slower tyres. Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton ended FP1 fourth fastest.
Red Bull were best of the rest with Daniel Ricciardo leading new teammate Max Verstappen, who replaced Daniil Kvyat for the remainder of the season earlier this week.
The Red Bulls opted to use the hard tyre before moving to the medium tyre later on in the session.
Williams were seventh and ninth fastest with Valtteri Bottas only a tenth shy of Max Verstappen’s benchmark. Only six points separate Red Bull and Williams in the Constructors’ Championship.
Both Spaniards ended opening practice in Barcelona inside the top 10. Carlos Sainz was eighth fastest whilst Fernando Alonso was tenth.
Kevin Magnussen will be encouraged by Renault’s pace as he was ahead of both Force Indias and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat.
Renault’s Esteban Ocon, who replaced Jolyon Palmer, did not set a time in FP1.
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