The sight of Fernando Alonso stopping his McLaren after just three corners wasn't really a surprise to anyone, but it certainly upset the Spanish fans who had turned up just to see their local hero. Alonso wasn't the only one struggling, as Sebastian Vettel reported a gearbox failure before bringing his Ferrari to a halt at the end of the pit lane. Kevin Magnussen also came to a stop after a trip through the gravel.

New names and numbers were on display on the cars, and several teams were testing out new upgrades - Red Bull appeared to have made extensive modifications. Sergey Sirotkin was in the Renault in place of Jolyon Palmer but only completed a handful of laps due to a water leak. Meanwhile, it was Mercedes out front with Hamilton ahead of Bottas.