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Formula 1 Chinese GP

Chinese GP Friday practice

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It's been a tough start to the season for Red Bull, which has suffered poor reliability and hasn't been able to show the race pace it believes it has. Hamilton reckons the team hasn't lived up to its impressive winter testing form.

Red Bull not as fast as it looked in F1 testing - Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull is not operating at the same level as Ferrari and Mercedes, adding that the team has not lived up to its pre-season testing form

Red Bull not as fast as it looked in F1 testing - Lewis Hamilton
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix. The second practice session is coming up shortly. Will Hamilton and Mercedes stay on top? Can Ferrari or Red Bull close them down?
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Here is our report from that first session. We'll be back in a couple of hours for FP2 - see you then:

Chinese GP: Lewis Hamilton fastest in FP1 ahead of Kimi Raikkonen

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable advantage over Kimi Raikkonen in the opening practice session for Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix

Chinese GP: Lewis Hamilton fastest in FP1 ahead of Kimi Raikkonen
Information
Final order: 1 Hamilton, 2 Raikkonen, 3 Bottas, 4 Ricciardo, 5 Verstappen, 6 Vettel, 7 Magnussen, 8 Sainz, 9 Grosjean, 10 Hulkenberg, 11 Gasly, 12 Alonso, 13 Perez, 14 Ocon, 15 Sirotkin, 16 Hartley, 17 Leclerc, 18 Vandoorne, 19 Ericsson, 20 Stroll.
Checkered flag
Chequered flag. Hamilton fastest in FP1 for the Chinese GP.
Radio Comms
Toro Rosso wants Hartley to overtake Grosjean rather than back off (time is tight near the end of the session), but Hartley reports that Grosjean used DRS down the back straight so he couldn't get ahead.
Radio Comms
Hartley is stuck behind Grosjean as the Haas comes out of the pits. "Can you overtake?" he is asked. "I'm trying..." No luck so far.
All but three cars on the track at the moment, although everybody is ending FP1 on used tyres so we're not seeing many signs of improvements coming.
Radio Comms
"Williams compare much slower at the moment," is the talk over the Force India radio.
The big stops around this lap get the brakes nice and hot.

The big stops around this lap get the brakes nice and hot.

Radio Comms
"OK Max, it should be six timed laps to the chequered flag." Nine minutes to go here.
Radio Comms
"Are you sure we are with the same engine settings from the first lap?" asks Alonso. He's told that he is.
Raikkonen's latest improvement to split the Mercedes drivers has put him 0.359s adrift of Hamilton's pace, but the Ferrari has used the softest tyre compound.
Information
Top 10: 1 Hamilton, 2 Raikkonen, 3 Bottas, 4 Ricciardo, 5 Verstappen, 6 Vettel, 7 Magnussen, 8 Sainz, 9 Grosjean, 10 Hulkenberg.
Radio Comms
Leclerc reports a mistake in the last corner, as we get a replay of him getting a twitch of oversteer and heading for the run-off area.
Green flag
Very similar to Verstappen's moment at the final corner; the car snapped one way then spat back in the other direction. Vandoorne asks to pit to "check everything over".
Yellow flag
Vandoorne has been off at Turn 10, taking a trip through the gravel and rejoining just in front of team-mate Alonso.
Raikkonen puts Ferrari third behind the Mercedes drivers. Ultrasofts for all of the cars chasing the Silver Arrows, but Hamilton and Bottas have used softs to set the pace.
Radio Comms
"The car feels more normal now," says Gasly.
Radio Comms
Leclerc reports debris at Turn 1, and he thinks it's from team-mate Ericsson's car.
Yellow flag
Hamilton spins! He’d just posted a new best time in the middle sector, but lost the rear into the left-hand Turn 11 and ended up on the run-off, facing the wrong way. Lap ruined, but no physical damage done.

By: Geoff Creighton

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