 Per the regulations for the 2016 season , three practice sessions were held , two 1 @.@ 5 @-@ hour sessions on Friday and another one @-@ hour session before qualifying on Saturday . Rain had fallen before the start of the first practice session , rendering the track wet and slippery , and drivers initially opted to go on their first laps on intermediate tyres . Nico Rosberg was the first to set a lap time , clocking in at 1 : 44 @.@ 037 , a time soon bettered by his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton at 1 : 40 @.@ 812 . As conditions improved further , Kimi Räikkönen set a new fastest time after about half an hour of practice . Soon after , the track had dried enough for the drivers to go out on slick tyres , with Daniel Ricciardo setting the first time on the medium compound with 1 : 34 @.@ 007 . After around one hour of practice , Hamilton managed the best time of the session , at 1 : 29 @.@ 725 . Still , several wet spots on the track caused problems to a number of drivers , including Max Verstappen , who flat @-@ spotted his tyres while spinning in turn six , as well as Valtteri Bottas and Rio Haryanto , who both had to pass through the gravel traps after slipping off the track . Shortly before the end of the session , rain returned and caught out many drivers , including Räikkönen and Ricciardo , whose Red Bull RB12 got stuck in a gravel pit at turn twelve . 
