page_title: 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix
section_title: Free practice
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix / Report / Free practice
caption_attribution_description: English: Pastor Maldonado at the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix
context_page_description: The 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 April 2015 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race was the fourth round of the 2015 season and marked the eleventh time that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
  Lewis Hamilton, who was the defending race winner, came into the race with a 13-point lead over Sebastian Vettel after his victory a week prior in China. He took the 42nd pole position of his career during Saturday's qualifying, and his fourth in a row. In the race, Hamilton won from Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Rosberg, taking his 36th race victory.
context_section_description: Per the regulations for the 2015 season, three practice sessions were held, two 1.5-hour sessions on Friday and another one-hour session before qualifying on Saturday. Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari were quickest in the first free practice session on Friday afternoon, with Räikkönen the only driver to lap the course in less than 1:38. The Mercedes team focused on long runs, running their cars on high fuel loads to examine tyre wear and were therefore down in 15th and 16th places respectively. Vettel's Ferrari showed problems early in the session, but Vettel was able to run without issues towards the end. Jenson Button spun out in turn one on the start of his first flying lap and was unable to run again as his team tried to change his car's battery. It was however an uplifting session for McLaren nonetheless, since Button's teammate Fernando Alonso finished in seventh place, just seven-tenths away from Räikkönen's fastest time. After China the week before, Jolyon Palmer once again took part in the first practice session for Lotus.
  Mercedes hit back in the second session on Friday night, with Nico Rosberg leading his teammate Lewis Hamilton by about a tenth of a second. The Ferraris were about half a second behind, with Räikkönen again the faster of the two. It was another dismal session for Jenson Button who had to park his car halfway through the session, though he was able to come back for a couple of laps towards the end of the session. A late red flag came out when Vettel, braking slowly into turn one, was clipped by the Force India of Sergio Pérez, taking off part of his front wing endplate.
  Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets in Saturday's free practice session, with Sebastian Vettel a tenth of a second behind, while Rosberg and Räikkönen completed the top four. Few cars took to the track during the early part of the session due to high temperatures and strong winds. A brief red flag period occurred midway through practice when Daniil Kvyat spun out in turn four.
caption: Pastor Maldonado during Friday's second free practice session
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