Live Commentary

Minutes : 2Massa topped final practice ahead of Raikkonen but only by six-thousandths of a second. Webber was third, followed by Grosjean, Vettel and Alonso. A nice mix at the front was followed by the two Force India drivers, Hamilton and a surprise in Vergne to round up the top ten. McLaren seems to be struggling. Qualifying is next at 1200 GMT. Join us then and find out who grabs pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix. ------ Practice has ended. Just 15 minutes for practice to end. Drivers are out on the option tyres doing qualifying simulations. Mercedes is concentrating on long runs, hence its two drivers are near the bottom of the charts at the moment. Past the halfway mark. McLaren is struggling. Perez has reported that he has a suspension problem. Five times in the first 15 minutes. The limited duration of the session, compared to the ones on Friday, means that teams try to maximize their time out on the track. The 60 minute session has begun with cars immediately heading out to the track. ----- Hello and welcome to the third and final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. Red Bull has found a nemesis in Ferrari and it looks like Fernando Alonso is determined to impress home fans. Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, also has to worry about Mark Webber, who is on the pace this weekend so far. If that isn't enough Lotus and Mercedes can always rattle the order. Too many possibilities and so little time. Final practice begins at 0900 GMT. Let's find out who sets the pace ahead of qualifying.

Minutes : 1Vettel is in familiar territory after he set the fastest time. Alonso, though, isn't far behind in second. Webber confirms Red Bull's pace ahead of Raikkonen and Massa. Hamilton was sixth followed by Rosberg, Sutil, Vergne and di Resta. Both the McLarens were outside the top ten. Final practice is on Saturday and begins at 0900 GMT. Do join us then. ----- Friday practice has ended. Di Resta has stopped on the track with a rear tyre delamination. 30 minutes to go. Fairly uneventful session. A few slides and a spin from Hamilton were the only exciting events. An hour remains. Plenty of running so far... It's bright and sunny in Barcelona right now. A perfect day for teams to run their cars. Vettel is the first driver out on track. He is on the new prototype hard tyres. The session has begun. ----- Hello and welcome to the second practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso pleased the home crowd by setting the quickest time in first practice but with a rain affecting the session the times were anything but indicative. The two Red Bull drivers were at the bottom of the list and McLaren opted not to run too much as it didn't want to risk damaging its upgrades. Perhaps second practice, which will begin at 1200 GMT, will see a bit more of action. Let's find out.

Minutes : 0Alonso tops in front of his home crowd ahead of Ferrari teammate Massa. Vergne was third, which confirms that the times are not to be read into too much. Most top times came around when the track was drying towards the end of the session. Grosjean was fourth, followed by Sutil, Hamilton and Bottas. Raikkonen, Rosberg and di Resta rounded up the top ten. Vettel was 19th just ahead of Red Bull teammate Webber. Button didn't set a time. Second practice begins at 1200 GMT. Join us then to get the updates, in what hopefully will be a dry session. ----- Alonso tops the time at the end of the session. Chequered flag is out. The slicks finally come out in the final 10 minutes. 20 minutes remaining. Vettel, Gonzalez and the two McLaren drivers are yet to set a time. "Don't think we're going to see slicks this session," reckons Karun Chandhok on Twitter. Less than an hour remains and the track is still wet. Not much action is expected today. Pirelli has changed the season's hard tyre compound, which is the prime tyre this weekend. "The orange hard compound is an evolution of the previous version, with a wider temperature operating window," Pirelli explains. Hulkenberg is the first driver to set a time. "Radar says no more rain, but there are still showers over the track," reports Sauber. Heikki Kovalainen has replaced Pic at Caterham and Rodolfo Gonzalez has stepped in for Chilton at Marussia for the session. Those prototypes will only be used on Friday. They carry no colour markings. Pirelli had brought hard prototypes for teams to use during Friday practice to promote more action on the track in otherwise quiet opening stages of practice. But the rain has washed away those plans for this outing. Sutil is the first driver to head out on to the circuit. It's raining, as was the forecast, in Barcelona. The 90-minute session has begun. ----- Hello and welcome to the fifth round of the Formula 1 season. It's the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, marking the start of the European leg of the championship. It would be easy to say Red Bull will continue to have the upper hand, having won two of the first four races, but plenty of upgrades will make appearances in Spain, that could allow rival teams to either bridge the gap or better the defending champions. Question is: will Red Bull be challenged this weekend? Answers begin with the first practice session, scheduled to begin at 0800 GMT.