Photo: Sam Bloxham / GP2 Series
GP2 championship leader Jolyon Palmer was quickest in practice for second round of the season at Catalunya, leading nearest rivals Felipe Nasr and Stephane Richelmi by over two tenths.
The Brit set his best time early into the 45-minute session and would be untroubled at the top until the end of practice.
Nasr and Richelmi opted for the same strategy, locking out the top three at the start of the session and keeping position for its remainder.
Russian Time’s Mitch Evans was fourth, while Daniel de Jong of MP Motorsport was among the few drivers to break into the top ten in the closing minutes of the session, having secured fifth place.
McLaren junior Stoffel Vandoorne took sixth, ahead of Hilmer’s Daniel Abt and Caterham Racing’s Rio Haryanto.
Series returnees Tom Dillmann and Sergio Canamasas completed the top ten.
Practice results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Jolyon Palmer | DAMS | 1:30.448 | 19 | |
| 2 | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1:30.651 | 0.203 | 15 |
| 3 | Stephane Richelmi | DAMS | 1:30.652 | 0.204 | 17 |
| 4 | Mitch Evans | Russian Time | 1:30.892 | 0.444 | 17 |
| 5 | Daniel de Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:30.951 | 0.503 | 15 |
| 6 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | 1:31.460 | 1.012 | 20 |
| 7 | Daniel Abt | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:31.508 | 1.060 | 17 |
| 8 | Rio Haryanto | EQ8 Caterham Racing | 1:31.510 | 1.062 | 18 |
| 9 | Tom Dillmann | Arden International | 1:31.524 | 1.076 | 15 |
| 10 | Sergio Canamasas | Trident | 1:31.650 | 1.202 | 16 |
| 11 | Stefano Coletti | Racing Engineering | 1:31.657 | 1.209 | 14 |
| 12 | Nathanael Berthon | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:31.666 | 1.218 | 16 |
| 13 | Johnny Cecotto | Trident | 1:31.813 | 1.365 | 19 |
| 14 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | 1:31.854 | 1.406 | 16 |
| 15 | Conor Daly | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:31.901 | 1.453 | 7 |
| 16 | Tio Ellinas | MP Motorsport | 1:31.905 | 1.457 | 19 |
| 17 | Kimiya Sato | Campos Racing | 1:31.912 | 1.464 | 17 |
| 18 | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 1:32.087 | 1.639 | 16 |
| 19 | Julian Leal | Carlin | 1:32.128 | 1.680 | 18 |
| 20 | Alexander Rossi | EQ8 Caterham Racing | 1:32.159 | 1.711 | 19 |
| 21 | Facu Regalia | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:32.398 | 1.950 | 18 |
| 22 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Rapax | 1:32.560 | 2.112 | 14 |
| 23 | Rene Binder | Arden International | 1:32.566 | 2.118 | 17 |
| 24 | Raffaele Marciello | Racing Engineering | 1:32.640 | 2.192 | 17 |
| 25 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 1:32.784 | 2.336 | 16 |
| 26 | Takuya Izawa | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.791 | 2.343 | 18 |