Ahead of today’s opening practice session the air temperature is 17 degrees C, while the track temperature is 19 degrees. It is overcast but dry.

For those of you hoping that tyres might have been demoted to the backburner, we have bad news. Last night, the drivers’ union – the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association – issued a statement warning that if there are any repeats of the failures we witnessed at Silverstone they will boycott the event.

Insisting that much of what happened at Silverstone was due to the drivers and teams, citing aggressive kerbs, tyre swapping, camber and tyre pressures, Pirelli have made numerous changes, including returning to a Kevlar belt. However, it might not be until later in the weekend, when fuel loads increase, that the tyres are put under similar pressure to that encountered last week.

While some say that the GPDA threat is an empty one, the fact is that F1 doesn’t need a repeat of what happened last weekend.

And talking of tyres, which we always are these days, the tyres available this weekend are medium (prime) and soft option.

Charlie Whiting has issued an edict clearly stating what the teams can and cannot do in terms of tyre pressures and cambers, with tyre swapping banned.

There are two DRS zones, one on the main pit straight, and the other between Turns 11 and 13.

There is only one reserve driver on duty today – Rodolfo Gonzalez is in Jules Bianchi’s Marussia. Then again, if things go awry tyre-wise he could make his debut on Sunday as could several other young aspirants.

Max Chilton is first out, followed by Sutil, Perez and Hulkenberg. Amongst the early risers is Alonso who stops shortly after leaving the pits. He climbs from the car and stares at it, totally bemused.

After a very disappointing weekend in Britain this is the worst possible start for the Spaniard and his team.

As Alonso directs the marshals, who are having problems moving the car, the clock is ticking… in the Ferrari garage Stefano Domenicali looks anxious.

Hamilton posts the first time of the day, a very, very, very conservative 2:16.935.

At Lotus, which will be hurting in these cool temperatures, both drivers are running the passive device. It was only used by Raikkonen at Silverstone but in all honesty didn’t make that much of a difference.

Twenty minutes into the session, Chilton and di Resta are back on track.

The new rules for 2014, which will see drivers get extra tyres on Friday, will hopefully mean that these long periods of inactivity we are currently witnessing every race weekend will become a thing of the past.

Approaching the half hour, Button leaves the pits followed by Perez, Grosjean and Webber. The Englishman posts a 1:39.929, improving to 34.342 next time around.

As Grosjean goes second (35.303) – Button having improved again with a 33.642 – it is noticeable that as at Silverstone the Lotus is throwing up a lot of sparks at various points on the track. Perez posts 34.442 and Webber 35.634.

As Alonso’s car finally arrives back at the Ferrari garage, the mechanics get to work.

Going quickest in the first and final sectors, Webber, who clearly loves this track, goes quickest, crossing the line at 33.047.

A 34.037 sees Massa go fourth, ahead of Perez, Vergne and Ricciardo. Teammate Alonso waits patiently in his car.

As Rosberg goes third (33.552), Hulkenberg runs wide in T10, his team understood to be in a fairly dire financial situation at present. According to one media outlet, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn has said the “team will see out the season”, which is usually the sort of thing you hear before it all goes belly-up. If it can happen to Sauber, what hope Marussia and Caterham?

As Vettel goes second (33.505), Rosberg goes quickest in the first two sectors, does it again in S3, crossing the line at 32.552 to go quickest.

Back on track, Alonso immediately runs into problems again, his car slowing to a worrying crawl. He is able to continue and slowly makes his way back to the pits.