Summary

  • Final practice & qualifying Saturday from 03:30 BST

  • Hamilton fastest - Mercedes & Ferrari all within one tenth of a second

  • Vandoorne stops with loose wheel, Stroll and Grosjean spin

  • Hamilton fastest in first practice

  • Get involved #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Gary Rose

  1. Listen to live audio commentary

    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

    As ever, you can listen to commentary on both practice sessions today.

    In the commentary box today is Alex Jacques along with former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer. Regular commentator Jack Nicholls will be back behind the mic on Sunday.

    Here's your commentary schedule today:

    First practice: Listen live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online from 02:55 BST.

    Second practice: Listen live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online from 06:55 BST

  2. 'We need to bring our A game'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

    .Getty Images

    Lewis Hamilton ended last weekend in Bahrain saying he “can’t afford to be losing any races to Ferrari” and he had not changed his mind on Thursday’s media day in Shanghai, saying “we need to bring our A game every weekend, especially given how close it is” and “we definitely don’t want to fall any further behind than we have”.

    Hamilton and his Mercedes team have effectively owned this track for some time. Mercedes have won the last four races in Shanghai and five of the last six, and Hamilton himself has six poles and five wins. But can he do it again? He’s not so sure, pointing to what he claims is a Ferrari engine advantage early this season. It looks like being another intensely competitive weekend at the front.

  3. ..

    Hello! Welcome along to our coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix.

    Two races down, two wins for Sebastian Vettel. You'd have to go back to 1982 for the last time a driver to win the first two races and not go on to win the title, not particularly great reading for Lewis Hamilton in the battle to win a fifth drivers' championship.

    But the Briton loves a challenge and, on a circuit Mercedes traditionally do well on, he'll be eyeing this as the opportunity to kick start his season.

  4. Crunch time already?

    A driver winning the first two races of the season and not going on to win the title doesn't happen very often. In fact the last person to do it was Alain Prost when he looked like this...

    .Getty Images

    If Lewis Hamilton doesn't up his game sharpish he may as well slap on a pair of tiny shorts and head to the tennis court himself...