Bahrain GP: Vettel tops opening practice
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| Sebastian Vettel |
Sebastian Vettel turned the fastest lap in opening practice for Sunday's Bahrain GP with a time of 1m32.697s, 0.4sec faster that Daniel Ricciardo in the first Red Bull and 0.8 sec faster than Max Verstappen in the 2nd Red Bull.
Vettel's Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen clocked just six laps before his identical SF17-H stopped because of an overheated turbo.
In temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were second and third quickest respectively for Red Bull, with Force India’s Sergio Perez fourth and the Williams of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll completing the top six, despite Massa suffering a brake related spin at Turn 13 late on.
Current constructors’ championship leaders Mercedes ended up 10th and 14th with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas – the world champions choosing to use their soft tires early in a session that saw rapid track evolution as more rubber was laid down.
Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR/ENGINE | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari-Ferrari | 1:32.697 | +0.000s | 21 |
| 2 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:33.097 | +0.400s | 22 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:33.566 | +0.869s | 23 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:34.095 | +1.398s | 22 |
| 5 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 1:34.246 | +1.549s | 24 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams Mercedes | 1:34.322 | +1.625s | 25 |
| 7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India Mercedes | 1:34.332 | +1.635s | 23 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:34.372 | +1.675s | 14 |
| 9 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:34.564 | +1.867s | 21 |
| 10 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes-Mercedes | 1:34.636 | +1.939s | 28 |
| 11 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1:34.838 | +2.141s | 13 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault-Renault | 1:34.927 | +2.230s | 13 |
| 13 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren Honda | 1:34.997 | +2.300s | 10 |
| 14 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes-Mercedes | 1:35.002 | +2.305s | 27 |
| 15 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault-Renault | 1:35.068 | +2.371s | 19 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:35.579 | +2.882s | 21 |
| 17 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:35.888 | +3.191s | 24 |
| 18 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber Ferrari | 1:35.959 | +3.262s | 23 |
| 19 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:36.079 | +3.382s | 16 |
| 20 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari – Ferrari | 1:42.333 | +9.636s | 6 |