Chinese Grand Prix second practice & debate

Summary

Raikkonen fastest in second practice, Vettel 2nd, Rosberg 3rd, Hamilton 4th
Ferrari beat Mercedes in qualifying simulations
Gutierrez's rear brakes catch fire
Rosberg fastest in first practice, multiple car failures

Live Reporting

Gary Rose

Postpublished at 08:48 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Image source, Getty Images
It's Ferrari's day as Kimi Raikkonen tops second practice. Could they be about to take the fight to Mercedes?
It's time for us bring the curtain down on our coverage of Friday practice. Head here to read Andrew Benson's report and join us again tomorrow at 04:30 BST for final practice.
Oh, and the team that has won the most races in Shanghai? Ferrari, with four.
Just saying...
Postpublished at 08:38 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
FP2 resultpublished at 08:36 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
11) Alonso 12) Button 13) Kvyat 14) Massa 15) Palmer 16) Grosjean 17) Wehrlein 18) Ericsson 19) Haryanto 20) Nasr 21) Gutierrez
No time: Magnussen
FP2 top 10published at 08:35 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
1) Raikkonen 2) Vettel 3) Rosberg 4) Hamilton 5) Ricciardo 6) Verstappen 7) Hulkenberg 8) Sainz 9) Perez 10) Bottas
Postpublished at 08:33 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"What a session by Ferrari. Maurizio Arrivabene cannot wipe the smile off his face at the minute."
Chequered flagpublished at 08:31 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Kimi Raikkonen finishes fastest in second practice for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Postpublished at 08:30 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
The longevity of the super soft tyre will improve as more rubber goes down on the track. Ferrari I imagine will be encouraged by the life of the super soft.
Postpublished at 08:30 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Sebastian Vettel is on his 16th lap on this stint on the super softs, but his times have dropped off massively, his latest effort a 1:50.814.
Postpublished at 08:29 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
A couple of moments for Lewis Hamilton as he runs wide at Turn 6 and then locks up at Turn 14.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is done for the day. He is out of his McLaren and slapping on a baseball cap and some nifty looking shades for the final two minutes of practice.
Postpublished at 08:25 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
After that bit of 'boogity' Jenson Button is out of his McLaren now but Fernando Alonso is still out there, 17 laps to the good on a set of softs.
Boogity is a good word. I feel compelled to start using it more.
Postpublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Postpublished at 08:21 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
A bit of British battle going on between Jolyon Palmer and Jenson Button.
Palmer overtakes at the end of the long straight but overcooks it into Turn 14 and Button nips back ahead. Palmer has another go, running alongside Button before a brief foray off the track.
Postpublished at 08:19 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
"Happy to try the other wing," says Romain Grosjean.
Haas are too as in goes the Frenchman and the switch is made.
Postpublished at 08:15 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Postpublished at 08:10 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Daniel Ricciardo completes a 12 lap stint and heads in. He had been lapping in the 1:44s but from lap seven onwards the drop off was quite dramatic.
Postpublished at 08:09 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Otherwise known as "go get a coffee time".
Ferrari a proper threat?published at 08:07 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentator
"Looking at Mercedes, one driver is on the soft tyre and one is on the medium so that will help them get an overall picture on how tyre wear will affect them on Sunday. Why have Mercedes changed policy for this race? The conclusion I think is that they see Ferrari as a proper threat at this race. They need to see the overall picture because they need to stay ahead of Ferrari."
Postpublished at 08:05 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Image source, Getty Images
Ferrari, and in particular Kimi Raikkonen, are clearly very popular in China. That model isn't very lifelike, though. His celebration is far too enthusiastic.
Postpublished at 08:03 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst
"I have been watching Daniel Ricciardo's last three laps and has done 1:44s pretty consistently. That's after six laps on super softs so now we need to see where it goes in terms of a drop off."
Postpublished at 08:02 British Summer Time 15 April 2016
Both Mercedes reach the end of their stint on the super softs. A big drop off towards the end as Nico Rosberg's 13th and final lap on the red walled tyre is a 1:51.8, while Lewis Hamilton's is a 1:50.2.
Rosberg is back out on softs, while Hamilton has gone for mediums.