Massa fastest in first practice at Bahrain GP

Sakhir: Felipe Massa set the fastest time in the first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix followed by Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.

Massa, who finished sixth at the Chinese GP, was 0.077 seconds faster than Alonso, who won the race in Shanghai. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was 0.134 behind in third followed by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who was 0.303 off the pace.

Vettel's teammate, Mark Webber, managed seventh fastest while Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was ninth.

The race has been overshadowed to some degree by the political crisis in the divided Gulf country. While the circuit has been quiet, daily clashes have taken place in nearby villages between pro-democracy protesters and riot police.