Lewis Hamilton comfortably led the field in Friday's first free practice session for this weekend's China Grand Prix.
Hamilton clocked in with a time of 1m33.999 which was 0.59s faster than Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, while the reigning world champion's Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas was 0.458s adrift.
Chinese Grand Prix - Free Practice 1
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:33.999s | 22 | |
| 2 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:34.358s | + 0.359s | 14 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:34.457s | + 0.458s | 28 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:34.537s | + 0.538s | 22 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:34.668s | + 0.669s | 22 |
| 6 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:34.861s | + 0.862s | 18 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:35.178s | + 1.179s | 21 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:35.616s | + 1.617s | 23 |
| 9 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:35.718s | + 1.719s | 21 |
| 10 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:35.800s | + 1.801s | 18 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:36.037s | + 2.038s | 21 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:36.044s | + 2.045s | 29 |
| 13 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:36.051s | + 2.052s | 28 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:36.351s | + 2.352s | 32 |
| 15 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1:36.691s | + 2.692s | 31 |
| 16 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:36.715s | + 2.716s | 23 |
| 17 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1:36.723s | + 2.724s | 23 |
| 18 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:36.756s | + 2.757s | 25 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:36.909s | + 2.910s | 21 |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:37.277s | + 3.278s | 28 |
Drivers kicked off their first session in Shanghai under an overcast sky and with a strong chance of rain but fortunately the elements stayed away for the duration of FP1.
Mercedes took the opportunity to put to the test different rear wings specs. With the exception of an inconsequential spin for Hamilton at Turn 10, the session ran smoothly for the Silver Arrows outfit, and the four-time world champion in particular.
Hamilton and Bottas ran for 90 minutes exclusively on Pirelli's soft compound, while Ferrari's Raikkonen set his fastest time on the purple ultrasoft rubber.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were fourth and fifth in the session, the Dutchman clocking in 0.131s behind his teammate.
Sebastian Vettel was 0.862s off the leader's pace as he worked through his various set-up programmes.
Haas once again put in a good showing as 'best of the rest' with Kevin Magnussen clocking in P7, edging out Renault's Carlos Sainz, team mate Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg who rounded off the top ten.
Toro Rosso was once again faster than McLaren, with Pierre Gasly just edging out Fernando Alonso, while Stoffel Vandoorne concluded the morning P19 after a spin in the closing stages of the session.
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