Hamilton fastest in first and second practice
Man arrested after running across track to enter Ferrari garage
Massa and Kvyat crash, Vettel spins
Jenson Button's 2011 Canadian GP win voted 'most surprising'
Suzi Perry
BBC F1 presenter
FP1 timings - Lewis Hamilton in another sphere!
Image source, Suzi PerryTip of the hat to Jolyon Palmer, who completed 25 laps in that session and finished just six tenths off the pace of regular Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado.
Ok, that's clearly first blood to Mercedes after the opening 90 minutes of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
A late, late lap from Sebastian Vettel made a mockery of my 04:30 entry, although the Ferrari man is still a fairly whopping 1.1secs off the pace of Lewis Hamilton.
Nico Rosberg is second, half a second down on his team-mate.
I don't want to alarm anyone, but Lewis Hamilton is currently one and a half seconds clear of the nearest non-Mercedes runner. Team-mate Nico Rosberg is a second clear of Sebastian Vettel in third.
Do the Silver Arrows have a point to to prove?
Image source, Getty ImagesCurly: Fisichella, Brazil 2003
Sean Kelly: A *real* surprise winner was Peter Gethin at Monza 1971. Never finished in the top five in any other race
Zigzag: John Watson, Long Beach GP 1983 from 22nd on the grid!
Image source, Getty ImagesFelipe Massa has clearly been wondering what's so interesting about the run-off areas of this track so decided to take a look for himself - adding a neat pirouette into the bargain.
Satisfied, the Williams man drives on...
F1 on twitter: SPEED TRAP: Felipe Massa has spoiled the Ferrari party...
Image source, F1
Ben Edwards
BBC F1 commentator
"The two Manor Marussias have completed nearly 30 laps between them, which is certainly a step in the right direction."
Lewis Hamilton is the latest driver to explore the limits of the circuit, his Mercedes getting loose through turn one and running wide.
The Briton remains quickest with just under 10 minutes of this session to go.
Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter
A little light drilling for Fernando Alonso
Image source, Jennie GowMercedes on Twitter: 20 mins to go and a little lull in the session. We're planning one more run before session end
Image source, Getty ImagesSo... returning to Jonathan Palmer (I said he was interesting).
After ending his racing career with Tyrrell at the end of 1989, a spell as a test driver with McLaren followed before he had a season in British Touring Cars in 1991.
Around this time he became the BBC's pit lane reporter, graduating to the role of co-commentator alongside Murray Walker following James Hunt's untimely death in 1993.
After those scoundrels at ITV nabbed the UK F1 TV rights at the end of 1996, Palmer focused on his business interests, including the formation of the Formula Palmer Audi Championship for young drivers (his son would take this route) and MotorSport Vision, which owns several tracks including Brands Hatch.
Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter
"Jenson Button has been struggling with a bad back - he's had to miss some of his marathon training."
Image source, EPACharles Ndlovu: , externalAlonso 2008 Singapore win from p15.
Jake Nichol: , externalGiancarlo Baghetti France 1961 on debut. Vittorio Brambilla Austria 1975. Olivier Panis Monaco 1996
Alen Šmit: , externalButton epic win in Canadian GP back in 2011, many stops, be on back of grid, crashes twice (ALO & BUT) and won...
Hmmm, I think history records that Alonso had a bit of a dubious helping hand at Singapore '08, Charles...
We're coming up on an hour gone and it's all as you'd expect at the top. Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton leading by half a second from team-mate Nico Rosberg, with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in third.
All 20 drivers have set a time.
Image source, Formula1.com
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
"Sebastian Vettel was coy on Ferrari's chances of beating Mercedes again this weekend, but team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who has had bad luck affect his hopes in both races so far, was more optimistic.
"'We have been with the car in Jerez [testing], in Barcelona and the first two races,' said the Finn. 'The car is working well in all conditions and circuits, so I don't see any reason why it should be something else here. It might be a bit different because it is cold, but the layout is probably closer to Barcelona than any race so far, and conditions are pretty similar. We will go out in practice, see how it is and try to work things out if we are not happy. But I don't expect any surprises.'
"Raikkonen said that Mercedes only looked so quick in Melbourne because he and Vettel had been stuck behind slower traffic early in the race. 'I said after Australia that if we would have been behind them in the race then I don't see that they would pull away, at least not as far as people think,' he said."
Image source, EPA
Image source, Getty ImagesA little more background for you now on Lotus new boy Jolyon Palmer, whose old man (above) is an interesting character.
A qualified doctor, Jonathan Palmer combined his racing interests with his medical career before focusing on the track, enjoying his first taste of success in Formula Ford in the late 1970s.
He won the 1981 British Formula Three Championship and the 1983 European Formula Two title. After testing for Williams in 1982, he made his F1 debut for the team at the 1983 European GP at Brands Hatch.
He went on to drive for RAM, Zakspeed and Tyrrell but never really lived up to his early promise, with fourth place at the 1987 Australian GP his best result.
Mercedes on Twitter: A little research into alternative lines - or, indeed, circuits - from Nico Rosberg at Turn 6 on that lap. He rejoins unscathed!
Jolyon Palmer is in good company at very least, because many of his more illustrious peers are having a few lurid moments.
Several drivers have missed their braking points as they probe the limits of the track, with 2012 Shanghai winner Nico Rosberg the latest to do so, locking up and running wide into turn six.
It's fair to say Sebastian Vettel's win in Malaysia last time out surprised a lot of people, with Mercedes having been widely expected to win in a straight fight.
That got the BBC F1 chimps scratching our heads and doing some quick blackboard sketches, at the end of which we came up with this:
We want you to tell us your most memorable surprise winners in F1. Simple as that.
I'm going to kick you off with Olivier Panis at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, because, let's face it, nearly everyone will say that. But I'm all ears for any others you can think of...
Get in touch on Twitter, external (#surprisewinners) via Facebook , externalor by visiting our Google+, external page
Image source, Getty Images