First practice at a brand new track is always something of an adventure, and the drivers took to the Sochi circuit carefully. They quickly found their feet, with Fernando Alonso the first racer to hit the tarmac, and Jenson Button the first to spin off it. Lewis Hamilton suffered a brief brake problem that saw him cut short a run and return to the garage, but both the Mercedes drivers were fastest at the end of the session.

Daniil Kvyat was celebrating his home race, whilst Sauber let Sergey Sirotkin take over Esteban Gutiérrez's car for one session, allowing the Russian racer to get his first taste of F1 in front of the home crowds.