Nico Rosberg leads both Friday practice sessions in Bahrain - Mercedes dominate as McLaren welcome new driver
Published by Christine
Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver out on track for both sessions in the desert, but Mercedes were showing their dominance again, finishing FP2 a full second faster than the rest of the field.
In the first session, there was more running than normal due to the lower than average temperatures. Stoffel Vandoorne made his debut as deputy for Fernando Alonso, whilst Alfonso Celis was in for Force India, neither of them making too much impact on the timesheets.
Sebastian Vettel endured a difficult day and stopped out on track at the end of the second session because one of his rear tyres wasn’t bolted on correctly, but that wasn’t as bad as Grosjean’s experience – the Haas driver ran off track with the front wing detached and lodged under the car.
Mercedes set the pace, with a surprisingly fast Jenson Button behind them in third. Stoffel improved in the second session to finish 11th, but only seven tenths off his far more experienced McLaren teammate.
