During the first half hour, all drivers were dedicated to keep trying the harder tyre. Sebastian Vettel has already shown superiority over other rivals. But it was with the softer compound (in this case) when the Red Bulls have excelled over others, especially the German driver, who has left his partner more than six tenths behind. Lotus has been the second best team, with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean marking the same time in the third position. The last half hour has been a general simulation of the first stint of the race.
The session was full of off-track of all types and in all curves. Almost no one has escaped a fright. Apparently the great equality of the morning was not an illusion, because now times have been pretty far apart.
| P | Driver | Team | Time | Dif. | Laps |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:24.453 | 39 | |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1:25.076 | 0.623 | 39 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:25.116 | 0.663 | 36 |
| 4 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:25.116 | 0.663 | 40 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:25.330 | 0.877 | 38 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:25.340 | 0.887 | 39 |
| 7 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:25.367 | 0.914 | 42 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:25.519 | 1.066 | 29 |
| 9 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:25.532 | 1.079 | 42 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | McLaren | 1:25.627 | 1.174 | 39 |
| 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 1:25.830 | 1.377 | 40 |
| 12 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | 1:25.888 | 1.435 | 40 |
| 13 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1:26.028 | 1.575 | 37 |
| 14 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 1:26.138 | 1.685 | 36 |
| 15 | Jean Eric Vergne | STR | 1:26.224 | 1.771 | 32 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:26.385 | 1.932 | 43 |
| 17 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR | 1:26.599 | 2.146 | 39 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:27.198 | 2.745 | 44 |
| 19 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1:27.548 | 3.095 | 30 |
| 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 1:27.696 | 3.243 | 37 |
| 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 1:27.771 | 3.318 | 38 |
| 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1:28.057 | 3.604 | 32 |