Practice 1 Report - The Only Question

There was no question that Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton would dominate FP1. The only question was who would be third, and the answer was Valtteri Bottas in the Williams.

Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen, age 17, was the first driver out on the track as Formula 1 officially got underway with Friday's Free Practice 1 session for the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) were the next to leave the pits.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Centigrade.)

The Guido van der Garde/Sauber saga and legal battle played out right through to the start of the session, but it was a moot point in a way because van der Garde did not have a super license so he was not going to drive the car no matter what. Thus Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr were in the Saubers.

The line-up for the session was: Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber ‘‚    ‚  ‚ Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Rosberg set the first time to shoot for: 1:29.557. No other driver got below the 1 minute 30 second mark in the first 30 minutes. Vettel was second with a 1:31.510.

At the 30 minute mark the top 6 were: Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Sainz, Massa and Bottas.

The Sauber and Manor drivers had yet to leave the pits. Ricciardo had not done a lap yet either.

All the drivers were using Pirelli's medium compound tires with the white sidewalls for this session.

37 minutes into the session, local hero Ricciardo headed out on the track for the first time.

Midway through FP1 the top six remained: Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Sainz, Massa and Bottas.

With 43 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton clocked a 1:29.586, which was a mere 0.029 of a second slower than Rosberg. At this time the Mercedes drivers were two seconds quicker than the Ferraris. Grosjean and Button had yet to set a lap time.

With 31 minutes remaining in the session, we had the first spin of the season as Ricciardo did a half spin at Turn 15.

With 30 minutes remaining in the session the top six were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Sainz, Verstappen, Maldonado and Vettel.

With 25 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas popped into third with a 1:30.748.

With 22 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas was the only driver on the track. There was still no sign of the Sauber and Marussia drivers.

With 20 minutes remaining in the session, all the drivers were in the pits.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, the Toro Rosso boys broke the silence and started laps.

With 10 minutes remaining in the session, several more drivers joined the Toro Rossos.

The McLaren drivers were not among them. "We've brought the curtain down early on our #FP1 running to check over a small mechanical issue with a power-unit component," the team said.

The top 10 at the end of FP1 were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Bottas, Sainz, Verstappen, Massa, Maldonado, Vettel, Raikkonen and Ricciardo.

The Sauber and Marussia drivers never left the garages. Grosjean never set a lap time. And the McLarens of Button and Magnussen were the slowest among the cars that did set lap times.