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Chinese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen tops first practice after helicopter delays
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
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Verstappen made the most of the brief spell of running to top the timesheets
First practice at the Chinese Grand Prix was badly disrupted by poor visibility that prevented all but a few minutes of on-track running.
The conditions made it impossible for the medical helicopter to operate, a prerequisite of cars being able to run.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the quickest time in the 10-minutes of running on a damp track.
The session was stopped twice when nothing could land at the hospital and when the local airport was closed.
Practice started on time on a damp track under smoggy, grey, misty skies but was red-flagged after just five minutes.
There was a 45-minute delay before the cars were sent out again, only for the session to be stopped again after less than 15 minutes.
In that time, both Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen spun at Turn 10 and were able to continue, before Renault's Nico Hulkenberg spun into the gravel at Turn Two.
A virtual safety car period was started to recover the Renault but the session was stopped before that could even be completed.
Verstappen set a best time of one minute 50.491 seconds, 1.5secs quicker than Felipe Massa's Williams in second place. The Brazilian was 0.5secs quicker than team-mate Lance Stroll in third.
Only 14 drivers set a time and championship leaders Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes were not among them.
Renault's Nico Hulkenberg span at Turn Two when the cars eventually managed to get out on track
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton made a rare appearance at the bottom of the timesheets, registering just two laps
Australian Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel was unable to complete a lap in his Ferrari
Williams' Lance Stroll posted the third quickest time as team-mate Felipe Massa went second
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
- 2 hours ago
- From the section Formula 1
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Verstappen made the most of the brief spell of running to top the timesheets
First practice at the Chinese Grand Prix was badly disrupted by poor visibility that prevented all but a few minutes of on-track running.
The conditions made it impossible for the medical helicopter to operate, a prerequisite of cars being able to run.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the quickest time in the 10-minutes of running on a damp track.
The session was stopped twice when nothing could land at the hospital and when the local airport was closed.
Practice started on time on a damp track under smoggy, grey, misty skies but was red-flagged after just five minutes.
There was a 45-minute delay before the cars were sent out again, only for the session to be stopped again after less than 15 minutes.
In that time, both Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen spun at Turn 10 and were able to continue, before Renault's Nico Hulkenberg spun into the gravel at Turn Two.
A virtual safety car period was started to recover the Renault but the session was stopped before that could even be completed.
Verstappen set a best time of one minute 50.491 seconds, 1.5secs quicker than Felipe Massa's Williams in second place. The Brazilian was 0.5secs quicker than team-mate Lance Stroll in third.
Only 14 drivers set a time and championship leaders Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes were not among them.
Renault's Nico Hulkenberg span at Turn Two when the cars eventually managed to get out on track
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton made a rare appearance at the bottom of the timesheets, registering just two laps
Australian Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel was unable to complete a lap in his Ferrari
Williams' Lance Stroll posted the third quickest time as team-mate Felipe Massa went second
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Telly Talk Supreme
Chinese Grand Prix: Hamilton calls for race weekend changes after Shanghai cancellation
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
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Hamilton did not register a time during a quickly curtailed first practice
Chinese Grand Prix on the BBC
Dates: 7-9 April Venue: Shanghai International Circuit
Coverage: Practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; race on BBC Radio 5 live. Live text commentary, leaderboard and imagery on BBC Sport website and app
Lewis Hamilton has called for a rethink of Formula 1's procedures in bad weather following a farcical day of practice at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Cars ran for just 15 minutes of three hours' scheduled practice because the medical helicopter could not operate.
Hamilton, who crossed the track to sign caps for fans in the grandstands, wrote on Twitter: "So sorry for all you watching on TV or at the track.
"We must find a solution to deal with the weather issue."
And the Mercedes driver added that the problems could become an opportunity for F1's new owners, an American media conglomerate which bought the sport in January and removed long-time boss Bernie Ecclestone as chief executive.
"Seriously, though, this could actually be a blessing in disguise. A chance for new bosses to be proactive and creative," he wrote.
Of the two remaining days of the meeting, Saturday is forecast to have the best weather, with rain due overnight before Sunday.
Hamilton threw signed caps into the crowd after a frustrating day for the fans
The idea of moving the race to Saturday was discussed briefly by teams with Charlie Whiting, the F1 director of governing body the FIA, after second practice but was quickly dismissed.
Insiders said the weather forecast for Sunday "looks significantly better" than Friday's.
The issue on Friday was that the medical helicopter could not land at the designated hospital, which is more than 30 miles away from the Shanghai International Circuit.
Conditions at the track were poor, with low cloud, smog and mist, but helicopters could fly in its vicinity.
It is a fundamental safety requirement in F1 that the medical helicopter must be able to operate before cars are allowed to take to the track.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, who is leading the championship after winning the first race of the season in Australia two weeks ago, said: "It was boring. It was a shame, especially of the people who came to watch. But what can we do?"
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
- 2 hours ago
- From the section Formula 1
- 83
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Hamilton did not register a time during a quickly curtailed first practice
Chinese Grand Prix on the BBC
Dates: 7-9 April Venue: Shanghai International Circuit
Coverage: Practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; race on BBC Radio 5 live. Live text commentary, leaderboard and imagery on BBC Sport website and app
Lewis Hamilton has called for a rethink of Formula 1's procedures in bad weather following a farcical day of practice at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Cars ran for just 15 minutes of three hours' scheduled practice because the medical helicopter could not operate.
Hamilton, who crossed the track to sign caps for fans in the grandstands, wrote on Twitter: "So sorry for all you watching on TV or at the track.
"We must find a solution to deal with the weather issue."
- Predict your China qualifying top three
- Listen to BBC Radio 5 live's Chequered Flag podcast
- Chinese Grand Prix coverage details
And the Mercedes driver added that the problems could become an opportunity for F1's new owners, an American media conglomerate which bought the sport in January and removed long-time boss Bernie Ecclestone as chief executive.
"Seriously, though, this could actually be a blessing in disguise. A chance for new bosses to be proactive and creative," he wrote.
Of the two remaining days of the meeting, Saturday is forecast to have the best weather, with rain due overnight before Sunday.
Hamilton threw signed caps into the crowd after a frustrating day for the fans
The idea of moving the race to Saturday was discussed briefly by teams with Charlie Whiting, the F1 director of governing body the FIA, after second practice but was quickly dismissed.
Insiders said the weather forecast for Sunday "looks significantly better" than Friday's.
The issue on Friday was that the medical helicopter could not land at the designated hospital, which is more than 30 miles away from the Shanghai International Circuit.
Conditions at the track were poor, with low cloud, smog and mist, but helicopters could fly in its vicinity.
It is a fundamental safety requirement in F1 that the medical helicopter must be able to operate before cars are allowed to take to the track.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, who is leading the championship after winning the first race of the season in Australia two weeks ago, said: "It was boring. It was a shame, especially of the people who came to watch. But what can we do?"
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Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Lewis Hamilton beats Sebastian Vettel to Chinese Grand Prix pole
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39537606
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Vettel had the better of Hamilton in final practice but the Mercedes driver made it count in qualifying
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won a tight fight with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to take pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton beat Vettel by 0.186 seconds for his second pole in two races, while the German edged the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas by 0.001secs.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen made it the same top four on the grid as at the season-opening race in Australia.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth but 1.355secs off the pace.
The Australian's team-mate Max Verstappen was 19th after an engine problem.
China has underlined the impression created at the Australian Grand Prix that Mercedes and Ferrari are incredibly closely matched at the start of a season where huge regulation change has produced faster and more demanding cars.
And as in Melbourne, it was Hamilton who made the difference, pulling out the stops when it mattered in the final qualifying session as it appeared Ferrari might have the edge.
Vettel was fastest in final practice and in the first part of qualifying, and Raikkonen topped the second session.
Now that's entertainment: Mercedes and Ferrari were trading times all through qualifying
But Hamilton produced the first lap under one minute 32 seconds all weekend at the start of the top 10 shoot-out, beating Vettel by 0.184secs despite a slide at Turn 11.
Hamilton and Vettel both lowered their times by a little over 0.2secs on their final runs and the Mercedes man kept the advantage.
It was Hamilton's sixth pole in a row, dating back to last year's US Grand Prix, and his sixth in China, where he has won four times, more than any other driver.
But he will know he has his work cut out to beat Ferrari in the race after Vettel's impressive victory in Australia two weeks ago.
A wet race?
The race could well be wet, with overnight rain predicted and cooler temperatures than qualifying, which was dry and bright.
Governing body the FIA has taken steps to ensure that the cars can run after farcical scenes in Friday practice when practice was badly disrupted because the medical helicopter could not operate.
A wet race would be a complete unknown for the drivers - not only did they get hardly any running on Friday but they have not driven these new cars in the wet before this weekend, and Pirelli has designed new wet tyres for this season after complaints the previous ones were not effective enough.
The smog and rain that disrupted practice was absent for qualifying but wet weather is predicted for race day
Proof the cars are harder to driver this year
The first session of qualifying ended with a heavy crash for Sauber driver Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Italian lost control coming out of the last corner in the closing minutes of the session, dashing the hopes of Force India's Esteban Ocon, Haas' Romain Grosjean and Renault's Jolyon Palmer of improving and getting into the second session.
Giovinazzi, ironically, qualified 15th - fast enough to get into Q2 but was unable to take part because of the damage to his car.
He was on a lap that was on target to beat team-mate Marcus Ericsson, but even so ended up less than 0.1secs behind the Swede.
Palmer and Grosjean are both under investigation by race stewards for not slowing sufficiently under the waved yellows for the crash.
Sauber's Antonio Giovinazzi bins it at the end of lap in front of everyone in the main grandstand
The Italian - sitting in for regular driver Pascal Wehrlein - was able to walk away uninjured
'A very perfect lap': what they said
"The Ferrari looked so fast and we knew it was going to be close, and we knew we had to pull out all the tops and I managed to do a very, very perfect lap," Hamilton said.
"It started off not as good as the first lap, maybe because of tyre temperature, but it got better and better. It felt strong, and coming into the last corner knowing I was up a couple of tenths, it's always nervous because you want to gain some but you don't want to lose everything you've gained.
"It's exciting for me because we're really fighting with the guys and that is what racing is all about. It pushes you to raise the bar every time you go out, which I love."
Vettel said: "It was a nice session. I enjoyed it a lot. I was very happy with the lap I had. Last corner I lost a little bit, maybe chickened on to the brakes a bit too soon. But we just had enough margin to make it on to the front row."
Pimp his ride: Lewis Hamilton keeps inconspicuous for his journeys to and from the race track
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, fastest in first practice, went out in Q1 with technical problems
China's leader Xi Jinping discusses Friday's drizzle controversy with US president Donald Trump. Possibly.
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
- 54 minutes ago
- From the section Formula 1
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39537606
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Vettel had the better of Hamilton in final practice but the Mercedes driver made it count in qualifying
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won a tight fight with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to take pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton beat Vettel by 0.186 seconds for his second pole in two races, while the German edged the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas by 0.001secs.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen made it the same top four on the grid as at the season-opening race in Australia.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was fifth but 1.355secs off the pace.
The Australian's team-mate Max Verstappen was 19th after an engine problem.
- Sunday's race is live on the BBC Sport website and radio 5 live at 07:00 BST
- Make your Chinese Grand Prix race predictions here
- Chinese Grand Prix qualifying results in full
China has underlined the impression created at the Australian Grand Prix that Mercedes and Ferrari are incredibly closely matched at the start of a season where huge regulation change has produced faster and more demanding cars.
And as in Melbourne, it was Hamilton who made the difference, pulling out the stops when it mattered in the final qualifying session as it appeared Ferrari might have the edge.
Vettel was fastest in final practice and in the first part of qualifying, and Raikkonen topped the second session.
Now that's entertainment: Mercedes and Ferrari were trading times all through qualifying
But Hamilton produced the first lap under one minute 32 seconds all weekend at the start of the top 10 shoot-out, beating Vettel by 0.184secs despite a slide at Turn 11.
Hamilton and Vettel both lowered their times by a little over 0.2secs on their final runs and the Mercedes man kept the advantage.
It was Hamilton's sixth pole in a row, dating back to last year's US Grand Prix, and his sixth in China, where he has won four times, more than any other driver.
But he will know he has his work cut out to beat Ferrari in the race after Vettel's impressive victory in Australia two weeks ago.
A wet race?
The race could well be wet, with overnight rain predicted and cooler temperatures than qualifying, which was dry and bright.
Governing body the FIA has taken steps to ensure that the cars can run after farcical scenes in Friday practice when practice was badly disrupted because the medical helicopter could not operate.
A wet race would be a complete unknown for the drivers - not only did they get hardly any running on Friday but they have not driven these new cars in the wet before this weekend, and Pirelli has designed new wet tyres for this season after complaints the previous ones were not effective enough.
The smog and rain that disrupted practice was absent for qualifying but wet weather is predicted for race day
Proof the cars are harder to driver this year
The first session of qualifying ended with a heavy crash for Sauber driver Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Italian lost control coming out of the last corner in the closing minutes of the session, dashing the hopes of Force India's Esteban Ocon, Haas' Romain Grosjean and Renault's Jolyon Palmer of improving and getting into the second session.
Giovinazzi, ironically, qualified 15th - fast enough to get into Q2 but was unable to take part because of the damage to his car.
He was on a lap that was on target to beat team-mate Marcus Ericsson, but even so ended up less than 0.1secs behind the Swede.
Palmer and Grosjean are both under investigation by race stewards for not slowing sufficiently under the waved yellows for the crash.
Sauber's Antonio Giovinazzi bins it at the end of lap in front of everyone in the main grandstand
The Italian - sitting in for regular driver Pascal Wehrlein - was able to walk away uninjured
'A very perfect lap': what they said
"The Ferrari looked so fast and we knew it was going to be close, and we knew we had to pull out all the tops and I managed to do a very, very perfect lap," Hamilton said.
"It started off not as good as the first lap, maybe because of tyre temperature, but it got better and better. It felt strong, and coming into the last corner knowing I was up a couple of tenths, it's always nervous because you want to gain some but you don't want to lose everything you've gained.
"It's exciting for me because we're really fighting with the guys and that is what racing is all about. It pushes you to raise the bar every time you go out, which I love."
Vettel said: "It was a nice session. I enjoyed it a lot. I was very happy with the lap I had. Last corner I lost a little bit, maybe chickened on to the brakes a bit too soon. But we just had enough margin to make it on to the front row."
Pimp his ride: Lewis Hamilton keeps inconspicuous for his journeys to and from the race track
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, fastest in first practice, went out in Q1 with technical problems
China's leader Xi Jinping discusses Friday's drizzle controversy with US president Donald Trump. Possibly.
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Swami
Telly Talk Supreme
Lewis Hamilton wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dominated the Chinese Grand Prix to take his first win of the year and move into a share of the championship lead.
Hamilton's victory, in a race enlivened by a wet start and some terrific wheel-to-wheel battles through the field, ties him with first-race winner Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
The German finished second, hardening impressions that 2017 will devolve into a fight between the two multiple champions.
Vettel had to fight back after losing out on strategy in a chaotic opening to the race, which kept the shape of the race in doubt through a series of incidents and accidents.
Antonio Giovinazzi made it two crashes in two days after losing control of his Sauber on the start-finish straight
Anyone's race - provided you don't spin behind the safety car
The grand prix could have swung in favour of either Hamilton or Vettel depending on how events had played out.
In the end, fate decided for Hamilton, who was able to control the race from the front throughout and respond to his pursuers, who were always kept well out of arm's length.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen further heightened his already burgeoning reputation as one of F1's most exciting drivers with a strong performance to challenge Hamilton early on.
The Dutchman, up from 16th on the grid to seventh on the first lap, took third place, but was under pressure in the closing laps from his more measured team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who Verstappen had overtaken impressively in the early stages.
Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas had a chastening day, spinning behind the safety car in the early stages and dropping back to 12th, from which he recovered to finish sixth, behind the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
And there was cruel luck for Fernando Alonso, who drove a strong opening lap to have the uncompetitive McLaren-Honda up into eighth place, ran seventh for much of the race and was on course to finish there when his driveshaft failed shortly after half distance.
Hamilton is now level for podium places with the great Alain Prost (106). Source: Forix
The moment it fell for Hamilton
The race could have turned out very differently had it not been for a key moment on lap four.
After a wet start, Hamilton led the opening lap from Vettel and Bottas but the deployment of the virtual safety car following a crash by Williams rookie Lance Stroll, punted off by Force India's Sergio Perez, prompted Vettel and most of the midfield runners to pit for dry tyres on lap two.
The decision dropped Vettel to sixth but with all the runners ahead of him still on the grooved intermediate tyres on a rapidly drying track.
The four-time champion was now in a strong position, and poised to take the lead when Hamilton, Bottas, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen pitted.
But Hamilton and the others were saved by a crash by Sauber's Antonio Giovinazzi, the Italian losing it at the last corner, just as he had in qualifying on Saturday.
That brought out the safety car and Hamilton and the rest could make their own pit stops for dry tyres without losing out.
From there, Hamilton could control the race at will and was pretty much untroubled, despite a late push from Vettel.
Swami
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
- 11 minutes ago
- From the section Formula 1
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39538689
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton dominated the Chinese Grand Prix to take his first win of the year and move into a share of the championship lead.
Hamilton's victory, in a race enlivened by a wet start and some terrific wheel-to-wheel battles through the field, ties him with first-race winner Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
The German finished second, hardening impressions that 2017 will devolve into a fight between the two multiple champions.
Vettel had to fight back after losing out on strategy in a chaotic opening to the race, which kept the shape of the race in doubt through a series of incidents and accidents.
Antonio Giovinazzi made it two crashes in two days after losing control of his Sauber on the start-finish straight
Anyone's race - provided you don't spin behind the safety car
The grand prix could have swung in favour of either Hamilton or Vettel depending on how events had played out.
In the end, fate decided for Hamilton, who was able to control the race from the front throughout and respond to his pursuers, who were always kept well out of arm's length.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen further heightened his already burgeoning reputation as one of F1's most exciting drivers with a strong performance to challenge Hamilton early on.
The Dutchman, up from 16th on the grid to seventh on the first lap, took third place, but was under pressure in the closing laps from his more measured team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who Verstappen had overtaken impressively in the early stages.
Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas had a chastening day, spinning behind the safety car in the early stages and dropping back to 12th, from which he recovered to finish sixth, behind the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
And there was cruel luck for Fernando Alonso, who drove a strong opening lap to have the uncompetitive McLaren-Honda up into eighth place, ran seventh for much of the race and was on course to finish there when his driveshaft failed shortly after half distance.
Hamilton is now level for podium places with the great Alain Prost (106). Source: Forix
The moment it fell for Hamilton
The race could have turned out very differently had it not been for a key moment on lap four.
After a wet start, Hamilton led the opening lap from Vettel and Bottas but the deployment of the virtual safety car following a crash by Williams rookie Lance Stroll, punted off by Force India's Sergio Perez, prompted Vettel and most of the midfield runners to pit for dry tyres on lap two.
The decision dropped Vettel to sixth but with all the runners ahead of him still on the grooved intermediate tyres on a rapidly drying track.
The four-time champion was now in a strong position, and poised to take the lead when Hamilton, Bottas, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen pitted.
But Hamilton and the others were saved by a crash by Sauber's Antonio Giovinazzi, the Italian losing it at the last corner, just as he had in qualifying on Saturday.
That brought out the safety car and Hamilton and the rest could make their own pit stops for dry tyres without losing out.
From there, Hamilton could control the race at will and was pretty much untroubled, despite a late push from Vettel.
Swami