Chinese GP P1: Lewis Hamilton fastest from Nico Rosberg

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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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).

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