Practice One - Rosberg heads Mercedes one-two in China 12 Apr 2013

Practice One - Rosberg heads Mercedes one-two in China 12 Apr 2013

Practice One for this weekend’s Chinese round got off to a relatively
leisurely start at Shanghai International Circuit on Friday morning,
under overcast skies and 32 degrees Celsius ambient temperature.

Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of 1m 36.717s for Mercedes, ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton. The 2008 world champion was 0.454s back, on 1m 37.171s and headed the warring Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel on 1m 37.658s and 1m 37.942s respectively.

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa kept Ferrari in the hunt with fifth and seventh-fastest times of 1m 37.965s and 1m 38.095s, with McLaren’s Jenson Button sandwiched between them on 1m 38.069s. The silver car has a lot of updates on it this weekend in an attempt to find its sweet spot.

Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta put Force India into eighth and 10th places, on 1m 38.125s and 1m 38.561s, with the Lotuses of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen in ninth and 11th on 1m 38.398s and 1m 38.790s. The Finn was the only spinner on the dusty track, rotating briefly in Turn Seven.

Jean-Eric Vergne was 12th for Toro Rosso on 1m 39.057s, narrowly ahead of Pastor Maldonado’s updated Williams FW35 on 1m 39.158s, Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on 1m 39.180s, Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso on 1m 39.336s, Sergio Perez’s McLaren on 1m 39.360s and Valtteri Bottas’s Williams on 1m 39.392s. Perez blotted his work by going off right at the end of the session, on his way into the pits. He nosed his McLaren into a tyre wall, doing superficial damage.

Esteban Gutierrez was 18th on 1m 40.032s, leaving Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton in their Marussias to lead the Caterhams of Giedo van der Garde and reserve driver Ma Qing Hua.

Bianchi and Chilton were evenly matched, on 1m 41.966s and 1m 42.056s, with Van der Garde close by on 1m 42.083s. In front of his countrymen, local hero Ma did a good job for 1m 43.545s in the other Caterham.