Lewis Hamilton twice heads Kimi Räikkönen in Shanghai practice

Lewis Hamilton set the pace in both practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s 2018 Chinese Grand Prix, twice heading Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen.

Valtteri Bottas ended each practice in third place.

Hamilton had been dominant in the morning practice, more than three-tenths clear of the field, but the gap reduced to just 0.007sec in FP2. Bottas in third was just 0.033sec back, with Vettel also just a tenth back in second practice. The German had earlier finished sixth in FP1.

Rain reduced the teams’ running in the second of the day’s sessions, falling shortly after McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne stopped on track with an unsecured wheel – the latest in a series of pitstop errors up and down the pitlane this season.  

Max Verstappen claimed fifth in FP2 ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, with Kevin Magnussen – again faster than his team-mate Romain Grosjean – splitting the Renaults with Carlos Sainz Jr eighth.

Daniel Ricciardo, fourth in FP1, ended the second practice in ninth following a mistake on his flying lap, ahead of Fernando Alonso in 10th. The Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon were split by Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, who heads to China off the back of his best ever result and Honda’s best since its return.

Vandoorne ended the session 14^th, with Brendon Hartley again adrift of his impressive team-mate in 15^th. Sergey Sirotkin headed the two Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, with Lance Stroll at the foot of the field following a scrappy afternoon.

The Canadian had been 0.3sec adrift in the morning session, too.

---

For full analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix, sign up for the Mark Hughes newsletter to receive the in-depth Grand Prix report direct to your inbox.

---

Free Practice 2 classification

1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1min33.482sec
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1min33.489sec	+0.007sec
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1min33.515sec	+0.033sec
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1min33.590sec	+0.108sec
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1min33.823sec	+0.341sec
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1min34.313sec	+0.831sec
7	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1min34.458sec	+0.976sec
8	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1min34.473sec	+0.991sec
9	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1min34.557sec	+1.075sec
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1min34.632sec	+1.150sec
11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1min34.792sec	+1.310sec
12	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1min34.849sec	+1.367sec
13	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1min34.874sec	+1.367sec
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1min35.163sec	+1.681sec
15	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1min35.333sec	+1.851sec
16	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1min35.340sec	+1.858sec
17	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1min35.624ec	+2.142sec
18	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1min35.916sec	+2.434sec
19	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1min36.471sec	+2.989sec
20	Lance Stroll	Williams	1min37.147sec	+3.665sec

Free Practice 1 results

1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1min33.999sec
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1min34.358sec	+0.359sec
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1min34.457sec	+0.458sec
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1min34.537sec	+0.538sec
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1min34.668sec	+0.669sec
6	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1min34.861sec	+0.862sec
7	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1min35.178sec	+1.179sec
8	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1min35.616sec	+1.617sec
9	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1min35.718sec	+1.719sec
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1min35.800sec	+1.801sec
11	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1min36.037sec	+2.038sec
12	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1min36.044sec	+2.045sec
13	Sergio Perez	Force India	1min36.051sec	+2.052sec
14	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1min36.351sec	+2.352sec
15	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1min36.691sec	+2.692sec
16	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1min36.715sec	+2.716sec
17	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1min36.723sec	+2.724sec
18	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1min36.756sec	+2.757sec
19	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1min36.909ec	+2.910sec
20	Lance Stroll	Williams	1min37.277sec	+3.278sec