2016 F1 Round 2 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1 – Rosberg half a second clear of Hamilton

The 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix began at Sakhir on April 1. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg topped FP1 with a 1:32.294, with teammate Lewis Hamilton second, 0.505 seconds behind. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen was third, 1.834 seconds off the fastest time.

Button moved up to third early on after switching to soft tyres and setting a 1:35.440. He did not improve on that time and gradually slipped down the order as others went faster. He eventually finished 14th, four places ahead of teammate Vandoorne.

Räikkönen was third, with Ricciardo and Kvyat fourth and fifth and Hülkenberg sixth. Four teams were represented in the top six, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and Force India. The two Red Bulls were separated by just 0.080 seconds.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen were seventh and eighth, with Haas driver Romain Grosjean ninth. Massa was tenth and Vettel 11th. Ferrari thus had a spread of positions across its two cars, with Räikkönen third.

McLaren brought in Stoffel Vandoorne to replace the injured Fernando Alonso, giving him his first practice appearance at a Formula One Grand Prix weekend. Vandoorne completed 25 laps in the MP4-31 and finished 18th.

Force India fielded Alfonso Celis in place of Pérez for FP1, with Pérez due to return to the car for later sessions. Hülkenberg finished practice sixth, while Celis was further down the order.

Vettel used medium tyres throughout his 14 laps and recorded a 1:35.073, the fastest lap by a driver on that compound in the session. He was 2.779 seconds behind Rosberg.

Both Williams FW38s suffered from pronounced understeer, with Massa and Bottas struggling to get the cars to turn through the corners. Massa finished tenth and Bottas 12th, both behind Haas’s Grosjean.