Summary

  • Rosberg takes pole ahead of Hamilton

  • Vettel 3rd, Bottas 4th, Sainz 5th

  • Hamilton top in Q1, Rosberg tops Q2

  • Lotuses, McLarens, Nasr out in Q2

  • Manors, Force Indias, Ericsson out in Q1

  1. Postpublished at 10:07 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Manor on Twitter: Buenos Dias from Catalunya. It's a beautiful sunny day here. Perfect conditions for FP3 & qualifying.

    Speaking of sunny, here's Roberto Merhi ready to jump in his car.

    MerhiImage source, Manor F1
  2. Not so bad news for Red Bullpublished at 10:07 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Panic not, Red Bull fans, Tom has just provided another update swiftly on the back of that one and it is apparently just a water leak they are dealing with. Red Bull hope to get Daniil Kvyat out in the next 30 minutes or so.

  3. Bad news for Red Bull?published at 10:05 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Tom Clarkson
    BBC F1 pit-lane reporter

    "There are no happy faces at Red Bull. Why am I always the bearer of bad news? There is good news, Daniel Ricciardo is in his car, he had a lousy day on Friday, next door however, Daniil Kvyat's car is up on the jacks and surrounded by engineers..."

  4. Get involved #bbcf1published at 10:05 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Formula 1Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    David Coulthard as Superman?

    Mad Mal as Mad Max? This needs to happen.

    With that in mind, if any Formula 1 driver - past or present - could be a film character, who would they be and why? Let us know via #bbcf1,, external text us on 81111 (UK only) or have your say on the BBC Sport Facebook page., external

  5. Mad Mal?published at 10:03 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    LotusImage source, Lotus

    Speaking of Mad Max, here is a brilliant picture of Pastor Maldonado in a Lotus given a post-apocalyptic makeover.

    Given the fact the films feature numerous cars involved in spectacular crashes, the above picture could hardly be more appropriate.

    "We think Pastor may just have found his perfect F1 car," tweeted Lotus., external

    Bad times when even your own team is trolling you...

  6. The back went boompublished at 10:02 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Formula 1Image source, Formula 1

    One of the more memorable moments from a largely uneventful day of practice on Friday was the engine cover on Romain Grosjean's Lotus spectacularly blowing off.

    The team has explained it as a "failure of a bodywork fastening". Yawn. I much prefer Grosjean's explanation.

    "It was a convertible car option," he said.

    "I think it's just a small part of carbon that probably broke and then air went into the engine cover and it just made a big Mad Max explosion. I saw it in the mirror, for some reason I was looking in the mirror at that time so I saw it live, and I braked early and radioed to say I had lost something."

  7. Go! Go! Go!published at 10:01 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Off we go then, one hour of practice is under way. Pastor Maldonado is the first man out on the track.

  8. Postpublished at 10:00 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Formula 1Image source, Formula1.com

    A truly beautiful day in Barcelona and it looks like it will be a cracking day out for the fans in attendance. Will Fernando Alonso be able to give the home fans something to cheer about in qualifying later today?

  9. Postpublished at 09:57 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer in Barcelona

    "How bad has it been for Ferrari this weekend, on the evidence of Friday? Well, Sebastian Vettel was 0.8 seconds off the fastest Mercedes - Nico Rosberg's - after the first runs in first practice, and a second behind by the end.

    "On the first runs, on the hard tyre, in second practice, Lewis Hamilton was 1.2secs quicker than Vettel, and then half a second clear on the qualifying simulation runs on the mediums.

    "The two Mercedes drivers were then neck-and-neck on race pace - a second on average faster than the Ferraris. There's something of a pattern developing there, obviously."

  10. Live nowpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    Live commentary and team radio is available RIGHT NOW on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online, via the live commentary tab on this page.

  11. Hamilton in a league of his ownpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Lewis HamiltonImage source, Getty Images

    OK, just a few minutes until one hour of final practice gets under way. The last bit of fine tuning for teams to get their cars ready for qualifying.

    A quick reminder of how Friday panned out - Lewis Hamilton was in a league of his own as the Mercedes driver set the fastest time in second practice.

    The world champion was 0.408 seconds up on Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg third.

  12. How's the weather?published at 09:52 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Formula 1Image source, Lotus

    It is another beautiful day in Barcelona and it looks set to stay that way, too. With a whopping 1% chance of rain.

  13. Postpublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer in Barcelona

    "Ferrari's resurgence this year has re-energised Formula 1, particularly in Germany and Italy, where television audiences that had declined last year have rebounded now Mercedes face some opposition.

    "The Italian team have brought significant revisions to their car to this race hoping they would further reduce the gap, on a track where the Ferrari's gentleness on its tyres should in theory pay dividends. But the early signs are not good for them.

    "On Friday, Mercedes appeared to have a bigger advantage than at any race since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix - and unusually Ferrari were further behind in race trim than over one lap. Can they do anything about it overnight?"

  14. Postpublished at 09:49 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    Formula 1Image source, Getty Images

    Buenos dias! It's qualifying day for the Spanish Grand Prix and boy could it prove to be an intriguing one.

    Have McLaren made a big step forward? Are Ferrari closer to Mercedes? Or have their rivals simply stirred a sleeping lion and Mercedes could be set to prove even more dominant?

    So many questions to be answered, so settle in and stick with us for the next few hours. We could be in for a belter!

  15. Ferrari - transformers in disguise?published at 09:38 British Summer Time 9 May 2015

    TransformersImage source, Getty Images

    I don't know about you, but just a little bit of me hoped that Ferrari's new upgrades would transform them into some sort of super rival to Mercedes and really spark up the title race.

    That didn't quite transpire on Friday, but could they create a surprise in qualifying?