Mercedes underlined its impressive pace around the Shanghai International Circuit with Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton in the first free practice for the Grand Prix, the place where Rosberg and the new incarnation of the Silver Arrows scored their respective first race victories in 2012.
The embattled Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel wound up third and fourth as Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button rounded out the top six with McLaren bringing a heavily revised car.
Despite these improvements, the second McLaren of Sergio Perez had an incident similar to Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese race ending incident in 2007 as the young Mexican beached his car in the gravel trap at the pit-lane entry and damaged his front wing.
Felipe Massa, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta rounded out the top ten, with Sahara Force India once again showing they have made a step forward over the winter in terms of pace.
Caterham’s third driver Ma Quig Hua took the wheel of Charles Pic’s car as he made made his debut on his home track. The Chinese propped up the time sheets in 22nd, some 1.5 seconds off of teammate Giedo van der Garde.
Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'36"717 - 21 laps
2 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'37"171 - 20
3 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'37"658 - 21
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'37"942 - 20
5 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'37"965 - 17
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'38"069 - 24
7 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'38"095 - 14
8 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'38"125 - 21
9 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'38"398 - 17
10 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'38"561 - 15
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'38"790 - 16
12 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'39"057 - 19
13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'39"158 - 22
14 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'39"180 - 21
15 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'39"336 - 19
16 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'39"360 - 20
17 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'39"392 - 21
18 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'40"032 - 22
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'41"966 - 16
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'42"056 - 18
21 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'42"083 – 21
22 – Quing Ma (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'43"545 - 20
The second free practice session saw Felipe Massa show his and Ferrari’s impressive pace by topping the time sheets after setting his best lap on soft tyres with 45 minutes of the session remaining. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen finished second ahead of Massa’s teammate Fernando Alonso with the Ferrari underlining Ferrari’s pace this weekend.
Nico Rosberg finished in fourth despite setting the pace in the first half of the session before the teams switched to soft-tyres, with Mark Webber and Jenson Button once again rounding out the top six ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Force Indias of Sutil and di Resta once again rounded out their top-10 despite the German’s session being characterized with a half spin. 11th placed man Sergio Perez also spun and suffered another trip through the gravel trap.
At the bottom of the grid, Max Chilton had a torrid time thanks to an oil pressure problem on his Marussia that forced him to return to the pits. The Brit rejoined but stopped on the circuit once again later in the session and finished last of the 22 runners behind the two Caterhams of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.
Chilton’s Marussia teammate Jules Bianchi finished 19th despite running as high as 11th at one point.
Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'35"340 - 32 laps
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'35"492 - 32
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'35"755 - 30
4 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'35"819 - 35
5 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'36"092 - 31
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'36"432 - 29
7 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'36"496 - 39
8 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'36"514 - 32
9 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'36"595 - 33
10 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'36"791 - 27
11 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'36"940 - 16
12 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'36"963 - 31
13 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'37"103 - 22
14 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'37"206 - 39
15 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'38"127 - 34
16 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'38"185 - 18
17 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'38"211 - 32
18 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'38"276 - 34
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'38"725 - 29
20 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39"271 - 21
21 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39"814 - 27
22 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'43"227 - 5
* Unofficial results
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| Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W04. (Photo: WRi2) |
The embattled Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel wound up third and fourth as Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button rounded out the top six with McLaren bringing a heavily revised car.
Despite these improvements, the second McLaren of Sergio Perez had an incident similar to Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese race ending incident in 2007 as the young Mexican beached his car in the gravel trap at the pit-lane entry and damaged his front wing.
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| Adrian Sutil, back in China, Sahara Force India VJM06. (Photo: WRi2) |
Felipe Massa, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta rounded out the top ten, with Sahara Force India once again showing they have made a step forward over the winter in terms of pace.
Caterham’s third driver Ma Quig Hua took the wheel of Charles Pic’s car as he made made his debut on his home track. The Chinese propped up the time sheets in 22nd, some 1.5 seconds off of teammate Giedo van der Garde.
Free Practice 1 - Results*
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'36"717 - 21 laps
2 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'37"171 - 20
3 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'37"658 - 21
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'37"942 - 20
5 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'37"965 - 17
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'38"069 - 24
7 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'38"095 - 14
8 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'38"125 - 21
9 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'38"398 - 17
10 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'38"561 - 15
11 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'38"790 - 16
12 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'39"057 - 19
13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'39"158 - 22
14 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'39"180 - 21
15 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'39"336 - 19
16 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'39"360 - 20
17 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'39"392 - 21
18 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'40"032 - 22
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'41"966 - 16
20 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'42"056 - 18
21 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'42"083 – 21
22 – Quing Ma (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'43"545 - 20
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| Ma Qing Hua, Caterham CT03. (Photo: Caterham F1 Team) |
The second free practice session saw Felipe Massa show his and Ferrari’s impressive pace by topping the time sheets after setting his best lap on soft tyres with 45 minutes of the session remaining. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen finished second ahead of Massa’s teammate Fernando Alonso with the Ferrari underlining Ferrari’s pace this weekend.
 |
| Felipe Massa, Ferrari F138. (Photo: WRi2) |
Nico Rosberg finished in fourth despite setting the pace in the first half of the session before the teams switched to soft-tyres, with Mark Webber and Jenson Button once again rounding out the top six ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Force Indias of Sutil and di Resta once again rounded out their top-10 despite the German’s session being characterized with a half spin. 11th placed man Sergio Perez also spun and suffered another trip through the gravel trap.
At the bottom of the grid, Max Chilton had a torrid time thanks to an oil pressure problem on his Marussia that forced him to return to the pits. The Brit rejoined but stopped on the circuit once again later in the session and finished last of the 22 runners behind the two Caterhams of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.
Chilton’s Marussia teammate Jules Bianchi finished 19th despite running as high as 11th at one point.
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| New helmet for Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing, in China. (Photo: WRi2) |
Free Practice 2 - Results*
1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'35"340 - 32 laps
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'35"492 - 32
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'35"755 - 30
4 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'35"819 - 35
5 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'36"092 - 31
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'36"432 - 29
7 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'36"496 - 39
8 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'36"514 - 32
9 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'36"595 - 33
10 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'36"791 - 27
11 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'36"940 - 16
12 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'36"963 - 31
13 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'37"103 - 22
14 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'37"206 - 39
15 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'38"127 - 34
16 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'38"185 - 18
17 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'38"211 - 32
18 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'38"276 - 34
19 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'38"725 - 29
20 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39"271 - 21
21 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'39"814 - 27
22 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'43"227 - 5
* Unofficial results