Practice 1 Report - Way Down There

At the end of Free Practice 1, Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were way down there in 15th and 16th places. Ferrari teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, were the fastest drivers in the session.

Force India teammates Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were the first out on the 3.363-mile (5.412-km) 15-turn track.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 127 degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Centigrade.) The humidity was 20 percent.

The line-up for the weekend 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 - Fernando Alonso 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.

Jolyon Palmer took over Romain Grosjean's Lotus for the session.

3 minutes into the session, Button spun and stalled in Turn 2.

6 minutes into the session, Rosberg set the first time: 1:40.077.

The tires used in FP1 were Pirelli's medium compound slicks with the white sidewalls.

12 minutes into the session, the only two drivers on the track were Rosberg and Hamilton who had a time of 1:41.147.

14 minutes into the session, Ericcson got on top of the board with a lap of 1:39.676.

18 minutes into the session, Bottas went ahead with a 1:39.206.

20 minutes into the session, Vettel beat that with a time of 1:39.202.

22 minutes into the session, Raikkonen topped that after setting a 1:38.975.

At the one-third mark the top 10 were: Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, Kvyat, Ericcson, Perez, Massa, Maldonado, Rosberg and Sainz.

As usual, everybody was in the pits now and preparing for the final hour.

34 minutes into the session, Hamilton was the first to get back out on track after doing a practice start at pit exit.

Mercedes tweeted: "Unsurprisingly the drivers are reporting tricky and low grip conditions out there in the very high temperatures."

Vettel would not be going out for a while as the mechanics were working on his car.

40 minutes into the session, Hamilton moved into sixth with a 1:39.532, and Rosberg improved to a 1:39.293 to take fourth place.

Midway through FP1 the top six were: Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, Rosberg, Kvyat and Hamilton.

With 41 minutes remaining in the session, Hulkenberg clocked a 1:38.187, good enough for third place, while his teammate Perez grabbed first with a 1:38.793.

But then Alonso turned a 1:38.598, and Verstappen a 1:38.504.

At the one-hour mark the top six were: Verstappen, Alonso, Perez, Maldonado, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg.

The Mercedes drivers were working on long runs and not fast laps.

With 26 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo went ahead with a 1:38.455.

With 23 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas beat that with a 1:38.390.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, Vettel was still in the pits having done just five laps. Then he finally got back out on track.

With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Raikkonen was on a flier.

With 7 minutes remaining in the session, he clocked the session best of 1:37.827 and then Vettel moved into second with a 1:38.029.

Sainz improved to fourth.

The top 10 were: Raikkonen, Vettel, Bottas, Sainz, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Alonso, Nasr, Kvyat and Massa.