April 29, 2016 – Mercedes dominated the first free practice session for the Russian Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg setting the fastest time, followed by team-mate Lewis Hamilton who was 7 tenths off. However, all eyes were on the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo who tested his team’s new canopy solution.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m38.127s | – | 32 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m38.849s | 0.722s | 31 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m39.175s | 1.048s | 19 |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m39.332s | 1.205s | 18 |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m39.365s | 1.238s | 14 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m39.650s | 1.523s | 24 |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m39.802s | 1.675s | 34 |
| 8 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m40.218s | 2.091s | 26 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m40.287s | 2.160s | 22 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m40.654s | 2.527s | 21 |
| 11 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m40.663s | 2.536s | 19 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m40.771s | 2.644s | 18 |
| 13 | Sergey Sirotkin | Renault | 1m40.898s | 2.771s | 24 |
| 14 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m41.085s | 2.958s | 21 |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m41.134s | 3.007s | 22 |
| 16 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas/Ferrari | 1m41.238s | 3.111s | 18 |
| 17 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m41.385s | 3.258s | 20 |
| 18 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m41.671s | 3.544s | 25 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m41.962s | 3.835s | 22 |
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor/Mercedes | 1m42.483s | 4.356s | 21 |
| 21 | Rio Haryanto | Manor/Mercedes | 1m42.687s | 4.560s | 8 |
| 22 | Alfonso Celis | Force India/Mercedes | 1m43.432s | 5.305s | 23 |