After 90 minutes on a constantly evolving circuit, it was Kimi Raikkonen who emerged on top of the timesheets in Friday’s opening practice for the 2015 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was just two-tenths quicker than team mate Sebastian Vettel.

With under a second covering the top 11 cars, it was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in third, followed by the Toro Rosso duo of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, split by Red Bull stablemate Daniel Ricciardo.

Mercedes, meanwhile, did not set the pace, but did complete a lot of running in preparation for Sunday’s race. Nico Rosberg finished 15th, with world champion Lewis Hamilton 16th.

It was a mixed session for McLaren. Jenson Button failed to set a time after spinning out just three minutes in, while team mate Fernando Alonso ended up an encouraging seventh fastest.

Reusltats:

Pos. Car Driver Team Laps Lap Time
1 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 13 1:37,827
2 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 12 1:38,029 + 0,202
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 23 1:38,390 + 0,563
4 55 Carlos Sainz (R) Toro Rosso-Renault 14 1:38,447 + 0,620
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 17 1:38,455 + 0,628
6 33 Max Verstappen (R) Toro Rosso-Renault 22 1:38,504 + 0,677
7 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 18 1:38,598 + 0,771
8 12 Felipe Nasr (R) Sauber-Ferrari 17 1:38,628 + 0,801
9 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing-Renault 17 1:38,661 + 0,834
10 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 21 1:38,790 + 0,963
11 11 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 15 1:38,793 + 0,966
12 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes 23 1:38,842 + 1,015
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 20 1:39,187 + 1,360
14 30 Jolyon Palmer Lotus-Mercedes 31 1:39,283 + 1,456
15 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 23 1:39,293 + 1,466
16 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 22 1:39,532 + 1,705
17 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 21 1:39,534 + 1,707
18 28 Will Stevens Manor-Ferrari 12 1:42,973 + 5,146
19 98 Roberto Merhi (R) Manor-Ferrari 15 1:44,265 + 6,438
20 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 2

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