After three weeks break it was once again the Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton who set the pace in first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix with McLaren’s Jenson Button a surprise second.
Hamilton was 0.868 seconds clear of Button as Mercedes continued their domination of Formula 1 meanwhile Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third, 0.082secs behind Button, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fourth.
Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg was fifth fastest after a troubled session in which he managed just nine laps and the German was stopped by overheating in his car’s hybrid system, but co-team boss Toto Wolff said the car would be ready in time to go out in the second session.