Postpublished at 13:30 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Nice look, Fernando.
Summary
Bottas on pole for first time, Hamilton 2nd, Vettel 3rd
Hamilton top in Q1 and Q2, Grosjean and Palmer through to Q3
Alonso must change engine for race
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Postpublished at 13:30 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Postpublished at 13:29 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Mercedes and Ferrari are staying out of things for the time being.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have done just two laps each, with Sebastian Vettel doing one while Kimi Raikkonen hasn't been out at all.
We're halfway through the session.
Image source, Getty ImagesGet involved #bbcf1published at 13:27 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Best and worst F1 cameos
Mad Pauly: Worst (or best if you're a Ferrari fan) cameo: Jean Louis Schlesser at Monza in 1988.
Postpublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Daniil Kvyat dips below 1:34 as he does a 1:33.934 on the softs to make it a Toro Rosso one-two at the top of the timesheet.
Image source, Getty ImagesBernie in Bahrainpublished at 13:22 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Bahrain
Image source, Getty ImagesBernie Ecclestone has turned up in Bahrain, at a race for the first time since he was ousted as Formula 1 chief executive in January.
Unsurprisingly, he was a sought-after interview. Unsurprisingly, he was only too happy to talk. And equally unsurprisingly, he said some mischievous things that were undermining for the sport's new bosses.
Ecclestone faced much criticism in recent years for the astronomic sanctioning fees he was forcing promoters to pay - and which were threatening to run the European races out of business. Guess what? Now he says they should be cut. It would be “good for everyone,” he told motorsport.com, “if we could charge the promoters a lot less money”. Really? So, why didn’t he? It turns out he couldn’t. “I know I could have done, but I was trying to make money for the company, that was my job,” he said. “It appears that it's not [Liberty's] prime objective, to make money. Their objective is to please the fans, which is good.”
No mention of the fact that he has been doing it for long before former owners CVC took over; or of the fact that he has never been known for his concern for the fans. Good old Bernie, as people say.
Postpublished at 13:20 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Get involved #bbcf1published at 13:19 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Image source, Getty ImagesGavin: Surely Luca Badoer must be the worst stand-in driver.
Malcolm Norwood: Jean Louis Schlesser, one appearance for Williams, managed to deprive Senna of a certain win and hand Ferrari the win.
Leane F1: How about @MarioAndretti, external pole at Monza 1982 for @ScuderiaFerrari, external ? that is the best cameo surely?
Postpublished at 13:16 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
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End of twitter postPostpublished at 13:15 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Carlos Sainz lowers the benchmark with a 1:34.219 on super-softs. That's two tenths quicker than Esteban Ocon's time on softs.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is out on mediums and is reporting that his right brake isn't working as well as his left brake.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 13:14 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Nothing, Rod. It was announced relatively late yesterday that no further action would be taken.
Get involved #bbcf1published at 13:13 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Rod Peel: Did anything come of Hulk blocking LH 44 yesterday?
Postpublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Postpublished at 13:11 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
We have our first timed lap of the day - Esteban Ocon doing a 1:34.415 on softs.
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 13:11 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Image source, Getty ImagesPascal Wehrlein is finally back behind the wheel of the Sauber after missing the first two races of the season to build up his fitness following his Race of Champions crash.
He hasn't been out in the 10 minutes of practice we have had so far. Jolyon Palmer, Nico Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson and Kimi Raikkonen are the others yet to head out.
Postpublished at 13:09 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Although, as Ian Fergusson notes, the wind will have blown a lot of the sand back onto the track.
Postpublished at 13:08 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
The McLarens head out to get a feel for the track conditions, which will be different to yesterday - not quite as sandy for a start.
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Postpublished at 13:05 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
We've had six drivers out so far with Fernando Alonso being the latest to head out. No times on the board yet.
Postpublished at 13:02 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
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End of twitter postGo! Go! Go!published at 13:01 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
One hour of final practice is under way.
Get involved #bbcf1published at 13:01 British Summer Time 15 April 2017
Best and worst F1 cameos
Image source, Getty ImagesSteve Bradley: Not sure if cameo is the right word, but Michael Andretti's brief foray into F1 was more of a catastrophe!