F1-EL1: Scuderia Ferrari in the lead in Bahrain

Kimi Räikkönen set the best time in the first practice session for the Bahrain GP. The pilot of the Team signed a time of 1’37”827 on the Sakhir circuit, ahead of his teammate by 2 tenths Sebastian Vettel. The winner of the Malaysian GP was disturbed by power losses but was nevertheless able to complete a dozen laps.

Valtteri Bottas follows in 3rd position ahead of Toro Rosso de Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen framing the Red Bull de Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso stood out by finishing in 7th position but his teammate Jenson Button was only able to complete one installation lap before suffering a mechanical problem. The top ten is completed by Felipe Nasr, Daniil Kvyat and Felipe Massa.

The Mercedes remained discreet in this session since Nico Rosberg is only 15th in front of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. The reigning world champion team seems to have focused on the long stints but the performance of its tires could pose a problem given the very high temperatures.

The second practice session for the Bahrain GP will be contested from 17 p.m. and broadcast live on Canal+ Décalé.