Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Many people did not expect us to get to this point but here we are, and it's time to turn attentions to on-track matters

The headlines off-track over the last 48 hours have mainly focused around the Force India team, with some mechanics having been caught up in a violent clash on Wednesday night after they left the circuit. No-one was hurt and they weren't the targets in the incident, but it has led to two members of the team returning home

I could spend all morning giving you the arguments for and against Formula One being in Bahrain, but there's an official session this morning and in the midst of what is shaping up to be a fantastic season, that is going to be the focus. Significant developments away from the circuit will be covered on the site, but let's just focus on the cars now, eh?

Lest we forget, Nico Rosberg arrives at the Sakhir circuit as the latest grand prix winner after his fantastic performance in China. The race was a breakthrough for Mercedes, while the battle behind for second place was outstanding. More of the same, please

If you want to get in touch with us during the session then you can do so using the link above or via Twitter @ESPNF1 - we've already had a couple on the topic of Bahrain, and we will try to deal with any we receive in a fair and balanced way

The two sides to the argument: Anthony emails in to say: "There should be no F1 in Bahrain in this year. It's not a matter of safety and security. As a matter of principle, the FIA should not be supporting a violent and autocratic regime. Your sport has lost at least one fan, and probably many more"

While Jose simply says: "Hope all of you are safe, and we all could watch a great GP this weekend"

A quick update on driver changes for this session. There's only one, and it's Valtteri Bottas in at Williams in place of Bruno Senna once again

Track temperatures are already much higher than we saw in China - 35C - while the air temperature is already 27C at 10am

Robert in Darwin says: "Hoping for a Mercedes 1-2 lockout for tomorrow!"

That could be a good bet, as there's some good straights to use DRS here

We are go for FP1 and Vergne is first out on to the track

It feels like a brand new circuit that the cars are using today, as the current layout has not been used since 2009. A special 'loop' was included in 2010 to mark 60 years of Formula One but we're back on what is frankly the better layout

Jose asks: "Can you tell us why that change of drivers at Williams?"

Put simply Jose, it's because Bottas is good. He's the official third driver for the team and a Williams source told me during pre-season that "everyone accepts that he is the future", but in order to give him the best chance when he finally gets a race seat he is taking part in 15 Friday practice sessions this season

Alonso returns to the pits with a rear wing covered in flo-viz paint

We should only see running on the prime tyre this morning - which is the medium compound - and the circuit will need cleaning up a lot before we see competitive lap times. Obviously being in the desert the track is sandy and dusty, though a special adhesive is used to prevent too much sand reaching the track surface

John emails in to ask: "Why all the cars making a formation lap every time the free practise started. Why not just get a full lap!"

The cars need to complete an installation lap to ensure that all systems are working properly and to allow the teams to engage certain settings. The cars are so complex that unfortunately it's not just a case of firing them up and sending them out at the start of the weekend. You're more likely to see cars staying out for a full lap in FP2

Ben asks: "Bahrain has a few straights, which could be great for the DDRS of Mercedes. Who are you tipping for the front row?"

I'm going to go with Rosberg once again, Ben. I think it'll be a straight fight between him and Hamilton, with last weekends victory giving him the extra confidence to take pole

Schumacher is the last man to complete an installation lap

Perez is currently on his third installation lap ... and he pits

Pic and Rosberg have the track to themselves at present

Button's take on the track conditions: "It's dusty, but OK"

Hulkenberg sets two purple (fastest) sectors as he completes an out-lap and looks to be the first man to try to set a time

Hulkenberg completes a lap in 1:36.855

Di Resta also completes a lap, a 1:37.380

Di Resta then improves to a 1:35.194

Renault admits it will be a tough morning as it works with the teams on getting the most out of its engines. It says the focus will be on torque levels and settings for each corner today, which will take some effort as the current layout hasn't been used for three years

Hulkenberg now top with a 1:34.859, just 0.070s quicker than di Resta

Kobayashi completes his first timed lap - a 1:36.991

Grosjean on a lap, and he goes third straight away just 0.361s slower than Hulkenberg

Kobayashi the latest man to be caught out at turn ten, where you're braking and turning at the same time. He won't be the last

Grosjean goes fastest with a 1:34.847. The top three covered by 0.021s right now

Told you Kobayashi was not going to be the last one - Grosjean runs wide at turn ten too

Maldonado does a 1:36.764, while Raikkonen's first lap time is a 1:35.762

Grosjean runs wide at turn 10 again after the rear tried to get away from him

Raikkonen goes fastest with a 1:34.609, 0.238s quicker than his team-mate

The fastest lap in FP1 last time on this layout in 2009 was a 1:33.647 set by Hamilton

And Vettel's just done a 1:34.311 to go quickest

Ed asks: "So why do the teams talk about wanting more track time and then sit in the pits for the first half hour of FP1?"

As mentioned earlier, the teams need to carry out systems checks and make changes to the cars after the installation laps at the start of the session, and these take time. Add in a dirty track that nobody wants to be running on and you get a quiet start

Mahesh emails in: "Why did they switch to the old layout? I am glad they did though, the 2010 layout was would have been more hard on tyre so its good new for Merc F1"

The layout used in 2010 was a one-off to mark 60 years of Formula One as it was the first race of the season at the time. I suspect it may have remained if the race had been exciting, but after being dubbed the Bore-rain Grand Prix that year it was not a tough decision to revert to this specification

Three fastest sectors and Vettel goes quickest on a 1:33.877

Hiren has emailed in to ask: "How are the Lotuses (Lotii?) looking out on track today? Specifically, what do you think of their chances for a podium on Sunday?"

The Lotus cars (dodging the Lotii bit!) have only done 15 laps between them but were on the pace imediately. I tipped Kimi to do well in China and I wouldn't change that stance here, as long as Lotus has learnt from it's strategic mistakes in Shanghai

Schumacher joins Vettel at the top of the timesheets but is 0.6s off the fastest time

We're only waiting for laps from the two McLarens and Marussias

As I say that Button does a 1:34.519 to go fourth quickest

Red Bull has sensors on the rear of its car, while Lotus is running a new front wing once again - it did so in China but didn't run it in the race

Felipe Massa also confirmed earlier that Ferrari has some small new parts this weekend

Pirelli's Paul Hembery on Twitter: "Track clearing, times improving. No signs of graining after first runs."

Rosberg's improved to second quickest, 0.372s slower than Vettel

Both McLarens now going quickly, Button goes third before Hamilton goes second - just 0.056s off the best time

Chris in Perth asks: "You could not have asked for a more exciting race last week, but what will be the deciding factor here? Tyre degredation in the heat? Do you think Mercedes have cracked tyre wear totally yet? or will the smooth drivers like Button have a huge advantage? I don't think Lotus will make the same mistake as last week with Raikkonen though."

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head there, Chris. The heat will make tyre degradation a big factor, and while I think Mercedes will deal with it better I still think it will have a bit of trouble, which is why I've tipped Button for victory in our preview

Hamilton goes quickest with the fastest final sector, a 1:33.572 being quicker than his best FP1 time of three years ago

Ron Dennis is keeping an eye on things in the McLaren garage. I wonder if he ever wants the Team Principal job back...

Tyres are already an issue, as Caterham on Twitter reveals: "Heikki's reported pretty high rear degradation on his first run so we're making a mechanical change to help deal with that on his next run"

Stefan emails in to say: "Nice to see the talk that Schumi is too old for F1 has died down a bit!!"

Di Resta improves to eighth quickest but still 1.1s off the pace

He's here. Bernie strolls down the paddock with the chairman of the circuit. I expect him to turn to the camera and say, "See? What were you talking about?!"

Di Resta runs wide exiting turn 12 and then rejoins at turn 13

Hulkenberg goes fifth on a 1:34.344

Theeban asks: "Hi, Just asking hows the situation on the circuit area in Bahrain and what is the track temperatures here? And any chance of rain here?"

No issues at or near the circuit, while the weather is also very predictable: dry and hot. No chance of rain

Colin emails in: "What is happening to Ferrari? Looks like they have a big problem at hand. 12 drivers on Seven different teams are in front of Alonso."

Don't read too much in to Friday times where Ferrari is concerned, Colin, as the team is notorious for not chasing lap times. It will not be strong here, though, and cites traction as its biggest problem

Deon asks: "Do you think Ferrari can challenge for the drivers championship this year?"

I'd say yes, Deon. Obviously things look bad now but no-one is running away with it yet and Alonso is so good at maximising results. If he's still relatively close come Barcelona and the team can sort the car our during the Mugello test then why not?

Hamilton seems happy with his car after setting the fastest lap. He's completed just eight laps - the lowest amount by any driver

Of course, as soon as I say that he heads back out on track

Not been much improvement on later runs, but nothing to suggest that fuel loads are very high either

Strangely, di Resta has gone out on soft tyres. Not what we expected, perhaps he just wants to find a better setup on the option compound

As you''d expect, di Resta is improving and he goes third, 0.578s slower than Hamilton and over 0.2s slower than Vettel

Hulkenberg is also out on the soft tyre, so just Force India that is keen to get out on the faster rubber

Hulkenberg goes sixth, 0.772s off the pace

Timo Glock has a quick spin at turn one, he lights up the tyres and is quickly on his way again though

Hamilton's session appears to be over, he's out of the car and watching on from the pit wall

Replays show a lot of build-up on Massa's front right tyre and a number of marbles flicking off

Both Caterham's in the pits, but they'll be encouraged as both are within three seconds of the fastest time

Matt in Florida emails in: "I supposed it would be difficult for Ferrari to chase laps times in FP1 even if they wanted to considering their drivers are spending more time steering into slides than not. I wouldn't want to be Domenicali if they don't have their problems sorted by Monza."

The flag falls and we have nobody improving, so Hamilton will end the session with the quickest time

Vettel is second quickest ahead of di Resta - who is third courtesy of a lap on soft tyres - and Rosberg. Button is fifth with the other Force India of Hulkenberg in sixth.

The top eight were within a second of each other, while Bottas did a good job in the Williams once again to be less than 0.1s slower than Alonso and just over 0.2s off his team-mate's best time

Elzudin asks: "What is with Mclaren, only 11 and 14 laps, have thay any problem or made more time in garage for preciously set up on cars?"

Far from it, McLaren will be the most confident team of all. It has the quickest all-round car and obviously felt it had enough data to work with from that number of laps

If I'm honest, that wasn't the most exciting session I've ever seen but it was good to focus on the on-track action. We'll see a better indication of pace as all the drivers will look to run the soft tyre this afternoon, so make sure you join us then. For any news between sessions then keep an eye on the site and on our Twitter feed