MONTMELO, SPAIN – MARCH 09: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 during day four of F1 Winter Testing at Circuit de Catalunya on March 9, 2018 in Montmelo, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
MONTMELO, SPAIN – MARCH 09: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 during day four of F1 Winter Testing at Circuit de Catalunya on March 9, 2018 in Montmelo, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in the opening free practice on Friday at the Chinese Grand Prix, where Mercedes is anxious for a first win of the season on a track where the British world champion dominates.
Hamilton shrugged off a spin to finish four-tenths of a second faster than Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen driving for arch-rivals Ferrari in blustery conditions in Shanghai.
Hamilton sets the pace in Shanghai
Mercedes are keen to get back on track after Ferrari ace Sebastian Vettel raced to victory in Australia to open the Formula One season and followed up with a tense triumph over the champions last weekend in Bahrain.
Both Vettel and Hamilton are chasing a fifth world title this year, but the Englishman has the edge in Shanghai as the most successful driver in the 14-year history of the race with five wins.
F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Practice results
His Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third in Friday’s morning practice, followed by the Red Bull duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, who angered Hamilton by colliding with him in Bahrain, dodged disaster when the aggressive Dutchman spun off the track early in the session, though he avoided a damaging crash.
Germany’s Vettel finished sixth, nearly nine-tenths of a second off Hamilton’s pace.
Mercedes are focussed on bouncing back from problems that have plagued them since the start of the season, ranging from software bugs to communication problems and grid penalties.
2018 F1 Driver Standings:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari: 50
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: 33
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes: 22
4. Fernando Alonso, McLaren Renault: 16
5. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari: 15
6. Nico Hülkenberg, Renault: 14
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull: 12
8. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso: 12
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 10
10. Max Verstappen, Red Bull: 8
11. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren Renault: 6
12. Marcuss Ericsson, Sauber: 2
13. Carlos Sainz, Renault: 1
14. Esteban Ocon, Force India: 1
15. Sergio Pérez, Force India: 0
=Charles Leclerc, Sauber: 0
=Lance Stroll, Williams: 0
=Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso: 0
=Romain Grosjean, Haas: 0
=Sergey Sirotkin, Force India: 0
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