It’s no surprise to see Mercedes ahead on pace at a track that is notably reliant on power units for good performance. Nico Rosberg was the fastest man for the first session, beating his teammate and then the Ferraris who were a second off the pace. Fernando Alonso had a gearbox problem during the session, whilst Felipe Massa picked up an energy recovery issue. Jenson Button, Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez all ran the halo concept device at one point or another, and Nico Hülkenberg sat out the session in favour of Friday driver Celis Jr.