Summary

  • Hamilton on pole, Vettel 2nd by 1,000th of a second from Bottas

  • Mercedes and Ferrari swapping top times

  • Giovinazzi crashes heavily, Verstappen out in Q1 with problem

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

  1. Get involved #bbcf1

    Should Fridays be scrapped?

    David Batemen: Lewis is right! F1 needs a contingency plan. How about virtual racing between drivers? Every track has those massive screens.  

  2. That's what this session is going to be all about. Teasing out those technical issues and getting them sorted before the real stuff starts with qualifying later. 

    Carlos Sainz appears to have resolved his lack of power problem as he is out on the track now.

  3. Team radio

    Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz: "No power"

    Carlos Sainz JrGetty Images

  4. Tom Clarkson
    BBC Radio 5 live commentator

    I have discussed with engineers this morning about what strategy they have for this session. Some teams are doing long runs others will do long runs, then a short run then a long run. 

  5. Go! Go! Go!

    One hour of practice is under way! 

    As expected, there's a queue of cars to head out, with Jolyon Palmer leading the way.

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  7. Jack Nicholls
    Radio 5 live Formula 1 commentator

    Very, very busy session. We will presumably see qualifying runs, we will presumably see long runs but they will also need to do set up work as well.

  8. Listen to live commentary

    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra is LIVE now with commentary on final practice. Jack Nicholls is joined by Mark Gallagher and Tom Clarkson and you can listen via this page.

  9. Get involved #bbcf1

    CharlieBoy: Just how are Lewis's suggestions going to help? This is basically down to bad weather. If it happens very little you can do about it. Surely a 2 day weekend will give even less scope if bad weather hits? Does he suggest we go straight into qualifying without a practice if rains too much day 1 of his 2 day schedule?  

  10. He has his detractors, but this was great by Lewis Hamilton yesterday. 

    The fans that turned up will have spent decent money to watch just 15 minutes of on track action so for Hamilton to go over to the stands, greet them and throw a few caps there way was good form.

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  11. Daniel RicciardoGetty Images

    Good to see that Daniel Ricciardo smile again after a race to forget in his native Australia last-time out. 

  12. Choose your qualifying top three

    .Getty Images

    Who do you think will qualify on pole today?

    You've got little more than your intuition to go on to predict how things will pan out today, so that should make the predictions interesting.

    Head here to choose your qualifying top three.

  13. Get involved #bbcf1

    DMA: Hamilton makes a good point on several levels. It's not just about the weather. Rather cutting a day off could make running a GP far less expensive for both the promoters of a given GP as well as for the teams themselves. So drop Friday altogether. Have practice on the Saturday, then qualifying on Sunday morning. If Formula E can do it all in one day there's no reason why F1 can't do it in two. 

  14. Get involved #bbcf1

    Time to scrap Friday practice?

    Do you agree with Lewis Hamilton's suggestion to scrap Friday and just have a two-day race weekend? Send in your thoughts via #bbcf1 or text in on 81111 (UK only)

  15. Scrap Fridays?

    .Getty Images

    Lewis Hamilton has called for a rethink of Formula 1's procedures in bad weather following a Friday's farcical day of practice.

    He  wrote on Twitter yesterday:  "So sorry for all you watching on TV or at the track. We must find a solution to deal with the weather issue. 

    "Saturday program: 3 practice sessions, qualifying Sunday morning and then race. Who's down for the switch up?"

  16. No race today

    Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer

    After Friday’s washout - or should that be ‘smog-out’? - the weather is expected to be dry on Saturday before more rain arrives overnight. 

    Despite that, holding the race on Saturday - to avoid the endless days caused by the impossibility of operating the medical helicopter - was only briefly discussed before being dismissed. 

    There are a number of concerns - not least the TV schedules - but the main reason was that the weather is expected to be less of an issue for flying on race day.

  18. Busy, busy, busy

    Andrew Benson
    Chief F1 writer

    The almost total lack of running on Friday is going to mean a very compressed schedule for the teams, who have to cram their race and qualifying preparation into one hour on Saturday. It should mean a very busy track and lots of action.

  19. Sun's out, cars out

    FerrariFerrari/Twitter

    Hello! Welcome to qualifying day for the Chinese Grand Prix. After heavy smog shrouded Shanghai yesterday I am delighted to say it is sunny today, meaning final practice and qualifying will go ahead as planned.

    Max Verstappen finished Friday with the fastest time but, considering we only managed around 17 minutes of on-track action, that means nothing. 

    What we've effectively got is a two-day Grand Prix weekend, with plenty to squeeze in in the one hour of final practice, which gets under way at 05:00 BST.

  20. Ready for some action?

    .Getty Images

    Not a lot happened on Friday because of Shanghai smog

    Hands up if you spent three hours on Friday staring at images of fog.

    If you did then a digital fist bump to you. We got through it without losing our minds.

    The good news is the smog in Shanghai has gone today so we should get plenty of on track action.

    Let's get busy!