- Carlos completed 28 laps in the first Free Practice session at Sochi, where he set the eleventh fastest time: 1:36.523.
- The session went underway in dry conditions, even though weather forecasts expect rain for the weekend, especially for Saturday.
- The McLaren driver ran on medium tyres during the first part of the session, completing 12 laps across three stints. He then switched to the soft compound, setting his fastest lap and putting together three runs of three, five and eight laps respectively.
