2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton set the early pace during Friday’s first free practice session, continuing McLaren’s strong form.
Both McLaren drivers ran an upgraded MP4-27, featuring a modified front wing, rear wing and a new floor.
Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher came 2nd and 3rd respectively, 1 second off Hamilton’s best.
The Sauber duo showed potential as both Sergio Perez, the man who made the headlines last race, scored the 4th fastest time ahead of teammate Kamui Kobayashi.
Red Bull was busy testing two different exhaust layouts, with Mark Webber running the updated version and Sebastian Vettel the old version to compare both designs. The latter ended up 7th behind his teammate.
Jenson Button clocked the 8th fastest time, with Toro Rosso drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne rounding up the top 10.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.106 2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.116s + 1.010 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.316s + 1.210 4. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.584s + 1.478 5. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.911s + 1.805 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.977s + 1.871 7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m39.198s + 2.092 8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.199s + 2.093 9. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.748s + 2.642 10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.768s + 2.662 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.056s + 2.950 12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.153s + 3.047 13. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m40.298s + 3.192 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m40.328s + 3.222 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m40.540s + 3.434 16. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m41.071s + 3.965 17. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m41.204s + 4.098 18. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.330s + 5.224 19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m42.521s + 5.415 20. Jules Bianchi Force India-Mercedes 1m44.118s + 7.012 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m44.227s + 7.121 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.500s + 7.394 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m47.204s + 10.098 24. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m50.465s + 13.359