Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix - First Practice Results

Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix - First Practice Results

Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix - First Practice Results

Getty Images/ Mark Thompson


Red Bull’s Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel put down a marker for a possible fifth win in a row by dominating both practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.

The 23-year-old German, chasing his third victory of the season, lapped the monumental Shanghai circuit with a best time of one minute, 37.688 seconds on a smoggy afternoon with few spectators in attendance.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was 0.166 adrift, a big improvement on the morning that saw him more than two seconds off the Red Bulls’ pace.

Vettel’s Australian team mate Mark Webber had been second fastest in the morning but was only 10th after the break. euronews

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Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Fastest in First Practice at China

German Nick Heidfeld was fifth for Renault despite a crash with half an hour of the session remaining, while Brazilian Felipe Massa was sixth for Ferrari but 2.3secs behind Vettel’s session-best pace.

Mexican Sergio Perez (Sauber), Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Russian Vitaly Petrov (Renault) and Swiss Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) rounded out the top 10.

Two-time world champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso could only manage 12th for Ferrari after spending much of the session concentrating on aerodynamic testing.

Heidfeld’s spin, which came after he ran wide at the 10th turn and nosed the Renault into the barrier, was one of few on-track incidents in a relatively quiet session.

Maldonado, who has yet to finish a Grand Prix this season, jumped into the top 10 late in the session for Williams before spinning at the fifth turn and taking no further part after beaching the car on the kerb. The Age

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	01:38.7
2	2	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	01:39.4
3	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	01:40.8
4	4	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	01:40.9
5	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	01:41.0
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	01:41.0
7	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber-Ferrari	01:41.2
8	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Cosworth	01:41.2
9	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	01:41.2
10	18	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	01:41.3
11	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	01:41.4
12	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	01:41.4
13	14	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	01:41.5
14	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Renault	01:41.6
15	15	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	01:41.6
16	19	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	01:41.8
17	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	01:41.9
18	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	01:42.3
19	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	01:43.8
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin-Cosworth	01:44.1
21	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT-Cosworth	01:44.4
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	01:44.4

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