Rosberg quickest in Bahrain practice

Nico Rosberg underlined the growing strength of Mercedes by clocking the fastest time in practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The German ace, who claimed his first career pole and maiden Grand Prix victory in China last weekend, was in impressive form again, and finished almost half a second clear of the field and nearly a second faster than team-mate Michael Schumacher. Red Bull showed improvement this time around with Mark Webber and world champion Sebastian Vettel finishing second and third quickest respectively. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had set the pace in first practice but was not as fast when using the slower compounds, only managing fourth in the second session, while team-mate Jenson Button was not especially quick in either. Meanwhile, Force India missed the second practice session as they wanted to return to their team hotel during daylight hours, although F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone insisted that the race would definitely go ahead.