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 | ||