- Second Bahrain Test - Day One
Perez leads the way on first morning of final test
Force India's Sergio Perez set the fastest lap on the first morning of the final week of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
All cars were quick to get out on track and get the test underway, which will be important to hammer out remaining issues and unlock performance ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in 16 days time. Mercedes was the last to set a flying lap in the morning, but by the lunch break at 13:00 had completed the most laps and Rosberg had set the second fastest time.
Mercedes-powered cars locked out the top three positions, although Perez's headline time was still a couple of seconds shy of best time set by the factory Mercedes last week. Rosberg set a 1:36.624 in the final 30 minutes before lunch, but the W05 has more in reserve.
By the end of the morning Daniel Ricciardo had completed 32 laps, the most he has managed in a single day behind the wheel of the Red Bull this year. He also went faster on his first flying lap than the RB10 had managed all last week and by the end of the morning improved to a 1:37.908.
The Red Bull was the highest-placed Renault-powered car, with Daniil Kvyat over a second off Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso and Lotus limited to a series of slow runs before Pastor Maldonado stopped on track, causing one of the morning's two red flags. Caterham caused the other when Kamui Kobayashi stopped coming out of Turn Four with smoke coming from the rear of the car. He did not return to the track for the rest of the morning.
Kimi Raikkonen also had a slow start to the day with just 12 laps in the Ferrari before a lengthily spell in the garage. Sauber's Adrian Sutil set the fastest time of the Ferrari-powered cars, albeit 2.6s off Perez's best, while Max Chilton completed just 16 laps in the Marussia.
Morning session, day one:
Sergio Perez Force India 1:35.290 37 laps Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:36.908 64 laps Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:37.825 40 laps Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:37.892 31 laps Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:37.908 32 laps Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:38.907 43 laps Daniel Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:39.242 43 laps Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:40.505 12 laps Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:40.599 31 laps Tom Chilton Marussia 1:41.074 16 laps Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:44.060 7 laps
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