Rosberg fastest in practice

Nico Rosberg followed up his first Formula One win with Mercedes with the fastest lap in Friday practice for a Bahrain Grand Prix overshadowed by petrol bombs and protests elsewhere in the Gulf kingdom. The German, who took the first victory by a Mercedes works team since 1955 at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, lapped the desert Sakhir circuit in one minute 32.816 seconds in the afternoon session.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the morning, when Formula One cars took to the reconfigured track for the first time in more than two years after last year's race was cancelled following a bloody crackdown on an anti-government uprising. "That was a good start to the weekend," said Rosberg, a winner after 110 unsuccessful attempts, while casting doubt on how meaningful the times were. "The most important thing still is to improve our race pace.