Hamilton tops the times in first practice

F1 Grand Prix, GP Spain, Circuit de Catalunya

Lewis Hamilton topped the times as running commenced at Circuit de Catalunya in preparation of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Jenson Button was second fastest, a distant 8 tenths off the pace.

Early in the session, Sebastian Vettel stopped on track following an eletrical issue on his car. The German does have a new RB10 chassis this weekend and had high hopes of improving his form, but the team's inability to get him back on track during the remainder of FP1 is an immediate setback for the reigning champion.

At Sahara Force India, Sergio Pérez was nearly hit by his own left rear view mirror. As the piece broke off, the Mexican grabbed it and returned it to the pits. The event caused for an interesting image with Pérez driving his car singlehandedly while holding the mirror in his other hand.

Moment later, Giedo van der Garde ended up in the gravel and just nearly missed the tyre wall following a brake failure on his Sauber C33.

Jenson Button headed the timesheets for most of the session until Lewis Hamilton improved on that in the final minutes, easily improving the McLaren driver by more than 8 tenths. His team mate at Mercedes AMG, Nico Rosberg sat in the garage and watched along as his mechanics attempted to solve a cooling issue on his W05.