In this first session, Paul di Resta has been replaced by James Calado. Sebastian Vettel was again the fastest, and since FP3 of 2011 (first edition of the Grand Prix), the German knows no other position than the first in this circuit, he has finished first in all sessions and has even led every lap of the previous two races at the Buddh International Circuit. His teammate was second. Behind them, Nico Rosberg finished third ahead of Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton. Daniel Ricciardo has suffered mechanical problems which prevented him from leaving until 35 minutes of the session went away, while Fernando Alonso has suffered damage in his gearbox that has prevented him to do only six laps.
| P | Driver | Team | Time | Diff. | Laps |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:26.683 | 24 | |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1:26.871 | 0.188 | 17 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:26.899 | 0.216 | 23 |
| 4 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:26.990 | 0.307 | 20 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:27.227 | 0.544 | 21 |
| 6 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:17.335 | 0.652 | 23 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | McLaren | 1:27.416 | 0.733 | 23 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.692 | 1.009 | 21 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:27.770 | 1.087 | 19 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:27.800 | 1.117 | 23 |
| 11 | Jean Eric Vergne | STR | 1:28.035 | 1.352 | 25 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:28.214 | 1.531 | 6 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR | 1:28.336 | 1.653 | 18 |
| 14 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 1:28.342 | 1.659 | 21 |
| 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1:28.468 | 1.785 | 20 |
| 16 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | 1:28.538 | 1.855 | 18 |
| 17 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:28.730 | 2.047 | 18 |
| 18 | James Calado | Force India | 1:29.197 | 2.514 | 22 |
| 19 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 1:29.413 | 2.730 | 24 |
| 20 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 1:29.560 | 2.877 | 20 |
| 21 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 1:30.026 | 3.343 | 23 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1:30.471 | 3.788 | 17 |
