Mercedes lead the way in FP1 as Jenson Button shines in the Russian sun for McLaren

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton led the way in the opening session of the weekend at the Sochi circuit as Formula One makes its debut in the country. Jenson Button was third for the McLaren Mercedes F1 Team just 0.196s behind Rosberg's time of a 1m 42.311.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest for the Italian team finishing the session just ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen. The Woking based outfit seem to have made a big step forward for this weekend's race as they hope to take fifth place in the Constructors championship away from Sahara Force India with the gap currently standing at one point.

Sahara Force India F1 Team's Sergio 'Checco' Perez finished the session in 6th place while local driver, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat did a fantastic job for the Italian team to end the session in seventh place. 

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was eighth fastest for the Scuderia ending the session just ahead of Jean Eric Vergne in the second Toro Rosso.

Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten despite the fact that he had limited track time this morning as his tyre's overheated in the tyre blankets. The Finn ended the session just ahead of team mate Felipe Massa.

Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo was 12th fastest for the reigning world champions. Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg ended this morning's session in 13th place just ahead of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The Sauber F1 Team's Adrian Sutil was 15th fastest for the Swiss based outfit finishing the session just ahead of the Lotus F1 Team's Pastor Maldonado. Russian rookie Sergey Siroktin was 17th fastest on his only outing for the team this season. He completed 22 laps and finished the session just ahead

of the Lotus F1 Team's Romain Grosjean.

Roberto Merhi was finished the session in 19th place in the Caterham F1 car just ahead of his team mate Marcus Ericsson as he filled in for Kamui Kobayashi.

The Marussia F1 Team's Max Chilton rounded out the runners in 21st place completing 26 laps for the Banbury based outfit. 

© Ben Johnston 2014