No sign of either Ferrari yet, and there might be nothing imminent from them either. Kimi Raikkonen is having a bit of work done to the rear of his car.

Romain Grosjean was a miserable so-and-so yesterday. He swore, called his car a disaster and generally had a right cob on.

He has been out for an installation lap but his Haas is back in the garage, nose off and someone is having a fiddle about with its innards.

Fernando Alonso is doing his bit for the home fans. He slows down approaching the pit lane entrance and waves to the crowd, who respond with a big cheer.

Everyone is out on the hard-tyre compound apart from Felipe Nasr, who has just set the first time of the session - a 1:27.157 - on mediums.

Ah, movement. Rio Haryanto takes the gorgeous Manor out on to the track, with Romain Grosjean, Fernando Alonso and several others following suit.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

“Pirelli has investigated the tyre failure on Jolyon Palmer’s Lotus on Friday but has not been able to establish what happens. The company knows it is not a puncture, but can find no definitive evidence pointing to a specific kind of failure. They believe something must have been touching the inside shoulder of the tyre, where the failure happened, but Renault believe this not to be the case. Senior figures admit it is a concern that no explanation has been found.”

Jolyon Palmer won't want to hang around too long. He sat out first practice yesterday while his running in FP2 was limited after a tyre failure.

And final practice is a go!

No-one is heading out.

Probably enjoying the sun too much.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Remember you can listen to 5 live sports extra commentary online right now.

If Lewis Hamilton struggles again this weekend, I'll start to believe it might not be his year.

In qualifying for the races in China and Russia, Hamilton suffered identical MGU-H failures. The MGU-H is a vital part of the power unit that regenerates energy from the turbocharger.

He's rocked up in Spain with an improved design of that component, plus a new turbo, so if it fails again it will be back to the drawing board.  

So how are we all this fine, sunny morning? Fancy a picture of Heikki Kovalainen sitting naked by a lake. 

Of course you do...

What do you reckon then? Is this a bump in the road for Lewis Hamilton or the start of a slow decline?

Get involved via #bbcf1,, external text in on 81111 (UK only) or post a comment on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Image source, Getty Images

So what's going on with Lewis Hamilton? A few mechanical gremlins that will be ironed out, or something more? 

The Daily Mail quotes a team principal, external as saying he is 'distracted', with former driver John Watson drawing comparisons with Hamilton to James Hunt in the same piece.

"James won the title in 1976, and in 1977 and 1978 there came all the spin-offs of being world champion," said Watson. "He was a celebrity. The balance shifted away from doing his job as a driver towards off-track distractions. It is easy to believe that your social life does not have an impact on your performance, but it has a drip, drip effect. It is subliminal.

"The balance of your focus changes. I would like Lewis to rein in his trans-Atlantic activities and concentrate on winning the world championship for a fourth time. If he does not want to do that he should pack it up."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

“Max Verstappen’s first day in the Red Bull senior team was a highly accomplished performance. 

"The Dutchman had had two days in the simulator at the factory to prepare and within a handful of laps was respectably close to team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. He ended the day within 0.2secs of the Australian was a very credible effort in a new car.

"‘I was getting used to the car still, but it was all going very positive,’ he said. ‘We were straight up there. I didn't feel the full limits of the car yet. It’s all about feeling. If you feel well in the car you can go to the limit. For me it's just getting step by step. For sure when I jump in the car tomorrow I'll have a better feeling again. For sure you need a few weekends I think to be fully comfortable.’ 

"Over at Toro Rosso, the usurped Daniil Kvyat was having less luck. He ended the day 1.2secs and 10 places down on team-mate Carlos Sainz but insisted he ‘knew in what direction to go in order to make steps forward for the rest of the weekend’.”

Image source, Getty Images

Nico Rosberg ended the first day of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend on top, with Lewis Hamilton third in practice.

The Mercedes pair were not the main draw card on Friday, however, with all eyes on how Max Verstappen would get on in his first Red Bull outing.

Very well, is the answer to that. He finished within two tenths of his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and will undoubtedly be one to watch in qualifying later today.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Image source, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Instagram

Final practice is at 10:00 BST with qualifying getting under way at 13:00 BST.

As ever, you can supplement my musings on here with audio commentary live from Barcelona.

Jack Nicholls is joined by Allan McNish in the commentary box with Jennie Gow and Tom Clarkson providing all the insight from the track.

Listen to it via this page.