Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso
Nico Rosberg finally managed to edge Lewis Hamilton in FP2 in Bahrain. He will be keen to get his first pole position of the season Getty

After a convincing performance at the Chinese Grand Prix by the Mercedes team, the F1 juggernaut arrived in Bahrain for the third Grand Prix of the season.

The battle is still between Mercedes and Ferrari, with the former a touch ahead on overall pace. Williams and Red Bull are playing catch up, but are getting closer with each passing race.

Where to watch live

The third free practice session begins at 1pm BST, while the qualifying session starts at 4pm BST. Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports F1 HD will provide live coverage of both events in the UK.

Real-time internet updates are available on the Live Timing section of the sport's official website.

Practice review

In a surprise start to practice in Bahrain, the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel lead the way in the opening practice session (FP1).

But it was only due to the Mercedes cars concentrating on longer runs rather than quick lap times. And in the second practice (FP2), normal service resumed with Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton.

There was quite a bit of action during FP2 following the quick lap times at the start and it all started when the red flag was shown after Vettel had a coming together with Sergio Perez as he was exiting the pits with 10 minutes to go. This meant the Ferrari driver's session came to an early conclusion.

Hamilton and Raikkonen will also be investigated after the both crossed the pit lane apron to avoid other cars that were making a dash for the track when the session was restarted following Vettel's incident.

Apart from the two leading teams, it was Williams and Red Bull, with Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and sixth. But the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado and the Sauber of Felipe Nasr looked quite interesting in both the short and the long runs.

McLaren look to have made a further step forward with Fernando Alonso suggesting that Q2 could be a possibility for the first time in 2015.

Top 10 results of the second practice session (FP2) from the Bahrain International Circuit:

  1. N Rosberg (GER) Mercedes 1'34.647
  2. LC Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes 1'34.762
  3. KM Räikkönen (FIN) Ferrari 1'35.174
  4. S Vettel (GER) Ferrari 1'35.277
  5. V Bottas (FIN) Williams 1'35.280
  6. D Ricciardo (AUS) Red Bull 1'35.449
  7. Pastor Maldonado (COL) Lotus 1'35.474
  8. Felipe Nasr (BRA) Sauber 1'35.793
  9. D Kvyat (RUS) Red Bull 1'35.883
  10. F Massa (BRA) Williams 1'35.884