Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said conditions had changed since pre-season testing week and “it is just a matter of tuning the set-up for the track”. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth quickest after a session affected by problems with his rear wing. Team principal Frederic Vasseur said the wing was a test item that did not work as intended. Spaniard Sainz had a high-speed spin at Turns Nine and 10 midway through the session and was slowest of all. The second session, held at twilight and therefore more representative of conditions for qualifying and race, starts at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT).

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