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On a hot Friday morning, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen led the early running with a first representative time, a 1m33.710s on Pirelli’s mid-range C3 compound.
Sainz then grabbed the lead with a 1m32.653s effort, which he later improved to a 1m32.486s in his C3-shod Ferrari.
It meant the Spaniard had improved on Max Verstappen’s Thursday benchmark by four tenths, with Ferrari continuing to head the top speed charts.
Sainz’s compatriot Fernando Alonso soon joined him at the front after the Aston Martin driver posted a 1m33.278s and then a 1m33.182s on the same compound.
Just before the halfway mark of the 4h15 morning session, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu split the Spaniards by going second with a 1m33.170s lap.
After disappearing into the garage for an hour to work on the front end, Alonso returned to reclaim the spot with a 1m32.969s on C2s.
Zhou’s morning was a mixed bag, too, with the Chinese driver disappearing for a lengthy spell in the garage which restricted him to 43 laps.
Newcomer Sargeant was the last of the 10 morning runners to get a time on the board as …