Lewis Hamilton set the pace for the opening Formula 1 practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend to continue his stronghold on this year's championship.
The Mercedes driver ensured it was a British 1-2 at the top of the timing sheets as he finished 0.868s ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button.
Button held the fastest time for the majority of the Friday morning session recording his best time on the hour mark.
The McLaren driver was stationed at the top of the timesheets until his compatriot Hamilton set the fastest time five minutes from the end of the session.
There were problems for Sebastian Vettel, who sat out nearly the entire practice period after an electrical issue halted his running and he pulled to the side of the track at Turn 5, just 25 minutes into FP1.
The German had only completed four laps when the problem struck his car and he ended up with the 20th fastest time.
Nico Rosberg could only manage the fifth fastest time after he suffered a lack of running due to a problem with his Mercedes power unit.
Behind Button, Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest in his Red Bull ahead of Fernando Alonso, who was visibly hustling his Ferrari around the Spanish GP circuit.
His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was sixth ahead of the second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen.
There was drama for Giedo van der Garde when he suffered a partial brake failure at Turn 1 and ran through the gravel at high speed, just missing the barriers on the outside of the corner.
Sauber's reserve driver was in the car in place of Esteban Gutierrez for FP1. He was able to continue to the pits unharmed.
The opening practice session of the weekend was the first chance for all the teams to try test the performance of their upgrades.
There was a bizarre moment for Sergio Perez when his left rear view mirror broke and came into his cockpit, forcing the Force India driver Hamilton fastest in opening practice in SpainMercedes driver sets the pace at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.FRI 09.05.14, 12:12PMChinese Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off in Shanghai by setting the pace in the opening practice session ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver finished 0.868s ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button. Button had spent the bulk of the session at the head of the order, only for Hamilton to pop up with five minutes remaining and dislodge his former McLaren team-mate from P1.
Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was third-fastest, just under a tenth of a second behind Button, but there were problems early in the session for the Australian driver’s team-mate, Sebastian Vettel.
After just 25 minutes the champion was forced to stop his RB10 at the side of the track, an electrical issue causing him to halt at Turn 5. The German had only completed four laps when the problem struck and he finished the session in 20th place.
Fernando Alonso gave his home fans something to feel positive about, the Spaniard guiding his Ferrari to fourth place on the morning timesheet.
Alonso was 1.1s adrift of Hamilton but a few hundredths of a second ahead of the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who only managed nine laps in the session due to power unit problems. Alonso’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was sixth ahead of the second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen.
Elsewhere, Sauber reserve driver had a dramatic moment when a brake problem sent him flying through the gravel at Turn 1, but the Dutch driver, who was deputising for Esteban Gutierrez, managed to make it back to the pits.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, had an incident in which his left hand rear-view mirrors became detached. The Mexican had to grab hold of the mirror and hold it inside the cockpit while he made his way back to the pits.
2014 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 Times1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.023 17 laps2 Jenson Button McLaren 1:27.891 0.868 263 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:27.973 0.950 214 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:28.128 1.105 235 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:28.168 1.145 96 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:28.337 1.314 197 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:28.423 1.400 278 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:28.744 1.721 349 Sergio Perez Force India 1:28.779 1.756 1810 Felipe Massa Williams 1:28.791 1.768 1311 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso1:28.792 1.769 2412 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:28.828 1.805 1713 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:28.859 1.836 2414 Felipe Nasr Williams 1:29.272 2.249 1515 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:29.688 2.665 1616 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:29.820 2.797 2217 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:29.944 2.921 2118 Giedo van der Garde Sauber 1:30.440 3.417 2219 Max Chilton Marussia 1:30.748 3.725 1920 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:30.942 3.919 421 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:30.997 3.974 2222 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:31.421 4.398 22
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