Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRace weekend

LIVE: Chinese Grand Prix - FP1

Follow live coverage of the first free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix with F1i.

FP1 gets underway at 1000 local time at a relatively cool and hazy Shanghai International Circuit, with early championship leader Nico Rosberg looking to capitalise on his two wins so far this season and extend his run of five consecutive victories overall.

LIVE: Chinese Grand Prix - FP1

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton already knows he will have to take a five-place grid penalty ahead of Sunday's race as a result of a new gearbox, with Mercedes making a change after discovering damage following the Bahrain Grand Prix.

At McLaren, Fernando Alonso will drive during the opening session having been declared "provisionally fit" to drive by the FIA, though the double world champion will have to undergo further medical checks after FP1 to determine if he is allowed to continue for the rest of the weekend.

While Red Bull expects to see stronger showings from Williams and Toro Rosso than in Bahrain this weekend, Haas is also attempting to secure its place among those teams fighting for solid points as it brings a new front wing for both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez to run.

This race will see the return of the 2015 qualifying format after the teams last week demanded the elimination-style qualifying be dropped.

F1i's live page has been updated to bring you a better user experience, while the coverage will bring you all the latest information about what is happening on track as well as news and features from the paddock.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.