Bahrain second 2014 test Test day one

17:44 That's it for AUTOSPORT Live's coverage of the opening day of testing here in Bahrain.

We'll return at 6am tomorrow morning, so for now stick with AUTOSPORT.com for the best reaction to and analysis of the first of four days of running at the Sakhir circuit.

Hulkenberg fastest as Red Bull hits problems again

17:41 Running is now finished. Here are the best times and number of laps completed by each driver:

1 Hulkenberg (Force India) 11m36.880s (78 laps)
2 Alonso (Ferrari) 1m37.879s (64 laps)
3 Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m37.908s (74 laps)
4 Magnussen (McLaren) 1m38.295s (81 laps)
5 Vettel (Red Bull) 1m40.224s (14 laps)
6 Sutil (Sauber) 1m40.443s (82 laps)
7 Frijns (Caterham) 1m42.534s (68 laps)
8 Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m44.346s (5 laps)
9 Grosjean (Lotus) 1m44.832s (8 laps)
10 Massa (Williams) no time (5 laps)
11 Bianchi (Marussia) no time (3 laps)

17:31 The chequered flag is out, bringing the first day of the Bahrain test to a close. Hulkenberg, Sutil and Frijns are still out on track.

17:29 Frijns improves his best time with just under two minutes left of today's running. He's still seventh on a 1m42.534s.

17:22 Less than 10 minutes to go, and we have Hulkenberg, Alonso, Magnussen, Sutil and Frijns on track.

17:20 Magnussen's latest run has taken him to the top of the lap count for today. He's just surpassed Sutil's mark of 75.

17:17 Talking of Hulkenberg, he's lapping around 1m40s at the moment.

17:14 As Alonso joins the track as well, Force India has a bit of fun and decides not to give anything away about its programme for the rest of the day.

@clubforce: "Back to the track for @NicoHulkenberg - will this be the last run of the day, or is there more on today's programme? 18 mins to find out..."

17:13

The teams will have to get used to running in Bahrain without a vibrantly sunny backdrop.

While we're not quite running at 2014 race start time, this year will be the first the circuit hosts a night race.

Which also explains the added floodlight representation around the track.

17:12 Hulkenberg - still quickest today by 0.999s - heads back out. We're into the final 20 minutes now.

17:07 While Frijns comes back in, the man to follow him as Formula Renault 3.5 champion - Magnussen - takes the McLaren out.

17:04 The Dutchman has found another four tenths, but it's not enough to vault him ahead of Vettel or Sutil.

16:59 Frijns takes the Caterham back out as the sun starts to get lower in the sky.

16:58 BEN ANDERSON reports that when he last had a wander through the paddock he spotted Lewis Hamilton - having changed out of his race gear - chatting with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. Does that mean that Hamilton's work is done for the day?

16:55 Magnussen pits, so silence falls over the Sakhir circuit for the moment.

16:54 That flurry of post-red flag activity has settled down now, and with 36 minutes remaining Magnussen's McLaren has the track to itself.

16:49 While we're updating on those that have struggled to log laps today, Marussia's delays were caused by what the team has called "an IT configuration problem".

The team thinks it is now on top of the issue.

16:49 We're into the final hour of day one here in Bahrain. For those who've just joined us, here are today's headlines:

*Hulkenberg beats 2013 fastest race lap to top the times
*Red Bull suffers more woe with its recalcitrant RB10
*The Lotus E22 makes its public debut with Grosjean
*Hamilton and Magnussen set the pace early on

16:47 Williams adds on Twitter that its problems today have been down to "a fuel system issue".

16:46 It's just an installation lap for the Williams, which returns to the pits and still doesn't have a time to its name for today.

16:45 Williams has joined Marussia in returning to the action, as Massa leaves the pits for the first time in hours.

16:40 Williams and Marussia currently sit at the bottom of the timing screens (having not set a time) and the lap count for the day, with three and two respectively.

16:39 It's been a long time since we've seen the Williams or Marussia on track. But Jules Bianchi is kitted up and ready to take the latter out on track shortly.

Williams, we believe, has been plagued by engine-related issues today.

16:37 Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Sutil are all lapping around 1m41s-1m42s. Alonso is the odd one out - after that quick lap he has dropped his pace considerably, logging a 1m48s and a 1m44s.

16:33 After the previous red flag period, we had a series of improvements when the track went green again. Four cars have got down to work this time, and Alonso has improved to get within a second (just!) of Hulkenberg's best and take P2.

16:31 We're now inside the final hour of running here in Bahrain.

16:27 As a digger drives past the media centre (surely a coincidence), the track is open again. Sutil, Frijns and Hulkenberg head out.

16:23 Thanks to this morning's 30-minute delay, there's still more than one hour remaining on the clock for today's running. But, as always, that keeps ticking while the red flags are out.

16:19

Vettel was not the only driver improving before the stoppage, but rooted in the garage and to the foot of the times was (and remains) Romain Grosjean's Lotus.

Perhaps that's understandable given it's the new car's first public running after missing the Jerez test, but there's little doubting right now is crunch time for the Enstone squad.

The E22 gets special treatment in this week's issue of AUTOSPORT, as we put the team, Grosjean and new team-mate Pastor Maldonado under the microscope.

All that, and more, is available in stores and online from tomorrow.

16:14 The lap Vettel was on looks to have been around 2-2.5 seconds down on Hulkenberg's best before the Red Bull stopped. Vettel is currently 3.3s off the pace overall.

16:13 It would appear that the Red Bull has been returned to the pits.

16:10 The world champion had just set personal bests on his two previous laps, and he was on course to go faster again on the lap that ended up causing the red flag.

16:08 As Magnussen makes it back to the pits, that means every car has returned except Vettel's...

16:08 The timing screens seem a little confused as to which sector Vettel is in at the moment, so could it be the Red Bull that has caused this stoppage?

16:07 Vettel is on course to improve again having set two personal best sectors on his current lap, but that effort has been scuppered by another red flag.

16:05 Another improvement for Vettel as he gets down to a 1m40.224s, moving him up to P5.

16:03 He's not the only one improving as we enter the final 90 minutes of running - both Alonso and Vettel have found some time as well.

16:02 Straight out of the box, Hulkenberg sets a new benchmark, trimming almost a tenth of a second off of his previous best.

16:02 The session is alive again, and we have Hulkenberg, Sutil, Alonso, Vettel and Magnussen all on track. That's the most cars we've had on track at once all day.

15:55 According to the timing screens, Kvyat stopped in the middle sector of the lap, and his car was brought back to the pits around 10 minutes later.