Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel’s victory in Malaysia suggested the 2015 Formula One season is not just going to be about Mercedes’ drivers cruising towards another title, and the Chinese GP will give an indication of what sort of title battle lies ahead.

Lewis Hamilton had enjoyed a straightforward win in Australia to start the season before Vettel recorded his first win for Ferrari since leaving Red Bull in the Malaysian GP last time out.

The action now moves on to the Shanghai International Circuit in China where Hamilton, having started from pole, led home a Mercedes one-two with Nico Rosberg last year, with Fernando Alonso in third.

Read on for all the latest updates in China from the third Grand Prix of the 2015 season.

Qualifying: Hamilton Edges Rosberg for Pole Position

Toru Takahashi/Associated Press

Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg continued there a-little-more-than-simmering personal rivalry during the qualifying race of the 2015 F1 Chinese Grand Prix.

Just as he's done recently, Hamilton had the edge over Rosberg. There certainly wasn't much to choose between the pair.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel claimed third spot. He indicated his team tried a new strategy, but was still "surprised" by how quick the competition was, per Sky Sports.

Elsewhere, McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso actually made it onto the track. Engine trouble took the Spaniard out of the final practice session, but he was full of praise for his team's efforts getting the car back on course, per his official Twitter account:

"

Fantastic work of the whole team to get the car ready for the Qualy! Again, big progress on the car from Malaysia! #GoodTimesComing 👍👍

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) April 11, 2015"

Here are the full results from qualifying, per BBC Sports' Jamie Strickland:

Position	Driver	Team	Fastest Lap
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35.782
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.824
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:36.687
4	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:36.954
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:37.143
6	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:37.232
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:37.540
8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:37.905
9	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:38.067
10	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:38.158
11	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:38.134
12	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:38.209
13	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:38.393
14	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:38.538
15	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:39.290
16	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:39.216
17	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda	1:39.276
18	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	1:39.280
19	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:42.091
20	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:42.842

P3: Hamilton Dominates Third and Final Practice

Andy Wong/Associated Press

Lewis Hamilton made it a hat-trick of fastest times in the practice sessions of 2015's Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix. In typical fashion, Hamilton and fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg dominated the field, but the latter trailed World Champion Hamilton by 0.226 seconds.

But what stood about the third and final practice session was team Ferrari's struggle to credibly challenge Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and fourth respectively.

However, there's reason to believe Ferrari will provide serious competition during the race proper. Sky Sports' Mike Wise believes the Scuderia car will have an advantage on the full course:

"

Regarding whether Ferrari can mount another challenge to Mercedes this weekend, the deficit was a slight improvement on that between Hamilton and Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on Friday although, as was the case in Malaysia two weeks ago, it's the Scuderia's long-run pace that seems key.

"

Meanwhile, BBC Sport's Andrew Benson noted how Ferrari has "upped" their game to keep up with Hamilton's excellent form.

Elsewhere, Benson also noted how Fernando Alonso faces a struggle to be ready for qualifying after car trouble took him out of the final practice. The McLaren-Honda driver ground to a halt after experiencing engine trouble.

Here are the full results from the final practice, per Formula1.com:

Position	Number	Name	Team	Best Time	Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.615		14
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:37.841	0.226	16
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:38.313	0.698	17
4	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:38.512	0.897	16
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:39.020	1.405	8
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:39.106	1.491	14
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:39.113	1.498	17
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:39.243	1.628	15
9	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:39.274	1.659	19
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:39.405	1.790	14
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:39.410	1.795	17
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:39.513	1.898	14
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:39.559	1.944	18
14	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:39.591	1.976	19
15	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:39.694	2.079	16
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:39.766	2.151	16
17	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:39.781	2.166	17
18	28	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:42.928	5.313	15
19	98	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:44.956	7.341	9
20	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	No Time		1

P2: Hamilton Again Fastest as Raikkonen Closes

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton was once again quickest in practice in the Chinese GP, but the second session supplied much more excitement and drama as his rivals closed the gap.

Hamilton’s Mercedes had been over a second quicker than the other drivers, excluding team-mate Nico Rosberg, in P1 on medium rubbers, but soft tyres in P2 brought the field much closer together.

Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari was second in P2, less than half a second behind Hamilton, and Daniel Ricciardo was third for Red Bull. Ricciardo had been almost two seconds slower than Hamilton in P1, but was only just over a second slower in P2.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth fastest as Hamilton’s team-mate Rosberg could only manage fifth, with Daniil Kyvat in sixth. Kyvat did have a problem towards the end of the session, though, as he trundled into the barriers at slow speed after a fire to his left-rear brake.

Felipe Massa was 10th in P1, but ended P2 down in 17th after he had earlier brought out the red flag following a spin, while there were also exciting duels between Hamilton and Vettel, and Rosberg and Raikkonen.

Jenson Button improved into 10th position following his P1 placing of 13th and there was another top 10 spot for Sauber’s Felipe Nasr.

Following the improved performance of Ferrari in P2, Sky Sports’ practice commentator David Croft is expecting a fascinating GP. Croft told Sky Sports: “The scenario working out is that Mercedes have the out-and-out better pace, but Ferrari do run longer on that soft compound tyre and average out faster so when it comes to the race they might actually be there with five laps to go.”

Here are the full results from second practice in China, courtesy of Formula1.com.

P	Name	Team	Best Time	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.219	32
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:37.662	35
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:38.311	24
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:38.339	30
5	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:38.399	35
6	Daniil Kyvat	Red Bull	1:38.737	10
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:38.850	27
8	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:39.032	26
9	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:39.142	32
10	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:39.275	29
11	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:39.444	30
12	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:39.743	27
13	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:39.751	33
14	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:39.894	32
15	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:39.971	28
16	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:40.151	28
17	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:40.423	7
18	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:40.868	24
19	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:42.973	27
20	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:44.564	8

P1: Hamilton Quickest from Rosberg and Vettel

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in first practice

Lewis Hamilton again demonstrated his liking for the Shanghai International Circuit as he set the fastest time with a dominant performance in first practice for the Chinese GP from team-mate Nico Rosberg.

The world champion had endured trouble in the first practice in Malaysia last time when he was unable to set a time, but he had no such difficulties on this occasion as he posted a time of 1:39.033.

He was just over half a second faster than Rosberg in what turned out to be a largely uneventful session as the Mercedes cars again displayed their dominance.

Vettel, fresh from his win in Malaysia, was third quickest, but was over a second behind Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was fourth fastest.

Andrew Benson, the BBC’s chief F1 writer, wrote: “The gap from Mercedes to the rest suggests they may be back to their dominant best after the surprise defeat by Vettel last time out in Malaysia.”

Felipe Nasr produced a solid effort to be fifth quickest in his Sauber ahead of the two Red Bulls, and there were also two Williams cars in the top 10.

The McLaren cars are continuing to toil in the opening weeks of the season as Jenson Button clocked the 13th quickest time and Fernando Alonso, who was third here last year, was down in 17th, more than three seconds slower than Hamilton.

Lotus’ reserve driver Jolyon Palmer offered signs of encouragement by being the 15th fastest on his debut, while his team-mate Pastor Maldonado was just outside the top 10.

Here are the full results from first practice in China, courtesy of Formula1.com:

P	Name	Team	Best Time	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:39.033	21
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:39.574	21
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:40.157	18
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:40.661	27
5	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:41.012	18
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:41.029	21
7	Daniil Kyvat	Red Bull	1:41.097	24
8	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:41.112	23
9	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:41.303	23
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:41.304	17
11	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:41.335	23
12	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:41.575	28
13	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:41.845	19
14	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:41.918	24
15	Jolyon Palmer	Lotus	1:41.967	25
16	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:42.141	22
17	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:42.161	20
18	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:42.184	19
19	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:45.379	18
20	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:46.443	20