Chinese GP P1: Lewis Hamilton fastest from Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton: Fastest in first practice

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in opening practice for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

The defending champion lapped the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit in a time of 1:39.033 to go 0.541s faster than his Mercedes team-mate, with Malaysian GP winner Sebastian Vettel third fastest for Ferrari.

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April 10, 2015

Vettel's success has raised the possibility that Ferrari might offer Mercedes a significant title challenge this season, although general consensus has suggested that the tyre durability of the Scuderia's SF15-T in Sepang's extreme heat was the deciding factor.

Logic therefore follows that Ferrari may find the going more difficult in this weekend's cooler climes, although the gap from Vettel to Hamilton - 1.5s - was, give a take a tenth, the same as it was at the corresponding stage two weeks ago.

A clearer picture will emerge when teams embark upon qualifying and race simulations in second practice but with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari fourth fastest overall, early indications are in line with most people's predictions.

In fact, the session itself was largely predictable and incident-free, besides a couple of low-speed spins early on. Even so, Sauber will be happy that Felipe Nasr set the fifth fastest time ahead of Red Bull pair Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, with Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz next up in eighth.

Williams pair Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa completed the top ten ahead of Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) and Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso).

Sebastian Vettel: Third fastest overall

Jenson Button was next up in 13th, with his McLaren-Honda about 2.8s off the ultimate pace, while Fernando Alonso was down in 17th spot. The Spaniard was two places behind debutant Jolyon Palmer, one of the early spinners but the GP2 champion recovered to set a 1:41.967 for Lotus.

Second practice starts at 7am BST.

Practice One Timesheet

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:39.033

2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:39.574

3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:40.157

4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:40.661

5. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:41.012

6. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:41.029

7. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:41.097

8. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:41.112

9. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:41.303

10. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:41.304

11. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:41.335

12. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:41.575

13. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:41.845

14. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:41.918

15. Jolyon Palmer, Lotus, 1:41.967

16. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:42.141

17. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:42.161

18. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:42.184

19. Will Stevens, Manor, 1:45.379

20. Roberto Merhi, Manor, 1:46.443

Anthony Davidson believes Ferrari have closed on Mercedes

Anthony Davidson believes Ferrari have closed the gap to Mercedes

Anthony Davidson believes Ferrari have made “huge inroads” into the Mercedes’ advantage, but predicts the Silver Arrows will “bounce back” in China.

Sebastian Vettel’s maiden win for Ferrari at the Malaysia Grand Prix ended Mercedes’ run of victories which stretched back to Monza last September.

“I am sure they are going to be bouncing back at the next race,” said the Sky F1 pundit said of Mercedes.

“They are clearly licking their wounds after Malaysia, but it is a very unique track and set of conditions that face you there and I think perhaps when we get to a more traditional event – as in weather conditions and track layout that challenges the tyres in a different way – we might see it return back to status quo.

“But one thing for sure is that Ferrari have made huge inroads into reducing the gap to the champions and who knows, this could be the start of a season long title fight.”

After Melbourne failed to deliver a thrilling start to the new season, Davidson believes F1 was “back to its best” with an engrossing race at Sepang.

“It was great for the sport to see a real competitor and some taking the fight to Mercedes like Ferrari – and what a great brand to do it,” he added.

“It was so good for the sport and it was great to see Vettel, having switched teams from Red Bull to Ferrari, taking the victory in Malaysia.

“It was F1 back to its best and as a fan and a pundit I was really happy that F1 put itself in a good light again after Melbourne which, honestly speaking, wasn’t F1’s finest moment. But every race is different and I think the general public have to appreciate that.

“Unfortunately Melbourne is the start of the season and all eyes are on that race and it wasn’t the most exciting of races, we had multiple cars drop out and it looked a bit sorry for itself.

“But Malaysia, second race in, it was a massive turnaround and once again a lesson not to judge a book by its cover and F1 was back to its very best.”

A round up of the best rants, instructions and celebrations heard over the team radio during the Malaysia Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s ability to look after their tyres meant they were able to make two stops compared to Mercedes’ three and even then, the Silver Arrows drivers still reported fading rubber over the radio.

“It was a big concern for them during the days of the blown floor don’t forget, tyre-wear was always high on the agenda at Mercedes and we used to see them struggle more in the race than they did on outright qualifying pace compared to the likes of Red Bull,” said Davidson.

“But Malaysia has always been so hard on the tyres, you have those long progressive corners that tighten up as you’re braking, in that extreme heat it really pushes the tyres beyond their limits.

“You only have to look back at last year’s results to see how close the opposition were relatively to Mercedes compared to the rest of the season and it looked like the anomaly. Although they won, they were definitely closer to their opposition than they were in places like Bahrain, Barcelona and all the rest of the races.

“With Nico they had a pretty dominant win in Melbourne and then they went to Malaysia and they had someone in their mirrors pretty much the whole race, albeit a couple of seconds down the road. So it didn’t seem even back then in their most dominant fashion like their strongest circuit, so it should be no surprise that the likes of Ferrari or someone kind on their tyres could be close or even topple them on that track. So let’s see where we are at the next race in terms of general competition at the sharp end of F1. I will be fascinated to see how it turns out.”

Toro Rossos could be rebranded in Renault-themed yellow livery

Spot the difference: Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso and Red Bull cars at the Malaysia GP

Toro Rosso could be rebranded in a yellow livery to give Renault greater visibility in F1, according to Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko.

Renault’s relationship with Red Bull, the parent team to junior outfit Toro Rosso, has floundered since the start of F1’s new turbo era and the group confirmed last month that they were considering leaving F1 at the end of the season.

Marko’s remarks will be seen as an attempt to take the sting out of suggestions that Renault could buy Toro Rosso – a prospect which Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss, admitted in Malaysia would likely “force” the former world champions out of the sport.

"Renault are spending a lot of MONEY on this power unit – not as much as Mercedes but a significant amount – and are confronted with the same issues that we (Red Bull) have: their F1 involvement has to pay off," Marko told Formula1.com.

"Add to that that Renault feels under-represented on the marketing side so there are considerations to either buy Toro Rosso or more likely give them a yellow livery to have a better marketing platform."

Red Bull and Renault, partners during the team’s run of four successive championship doubles at the turn of the decade, have engaged in an astonishing war of words since the start of the year when it immediately became apparent that both Mercedes and Ferrari boasted a significant power advantage.

After Horner described Renault as being in “a bit of a mess”, Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul hit back by describing Red Bull Technical Director Adrian Newey as a “liar” – a slur he subsequently apologised for to Sky F1.

Natalie Pinkham is joined by former F1 driver John Watson and ex-Red Bull engineer Mark Hutcheson to reflect on the 2015 Malaysia Grand Prix

Meanwhile, Toro Rosso, where the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat have graduated from, have admitted they would be open to a Renault takeover.

Sitting alongside both Horner and Abiteboul in the team bosses’ press conference in Sepang, Franz Tost confirmed: "I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for Toro Rosso to make the next step forward because the team wants to be established in the future within the first five in the constructors’ championship. To be part of a manufacturer – to be owned by a manufacturer – would be exactly [the] step forward the team needs to be established in the first five."

Adding to the intrigue, Marko has himself also warned that Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of both Red Bull and Toro Rosso, will lose his "passion for F1" and quit the sport unless the current regulations are overhauled.