Shanghai, 18 April

Track time is always useful, particularly at this early stage of a new Formula era, when every lap completed adds to the knowledge base. However, how beneficial this Friday will turn out to be might well depend on the weather, as after a cold overcast morning followed by a slightly brighter afternoon, tomorrow morning’s practice session is due to be held in the rain, with a doubt over qualifying too.
Scuderia Ferrari was a one-man team in the morning, as Kimi Raikkonen’s F14 T was sidelined with a technical problem after the Finn completed an installation lap. So most of the work fell to Fernando Alonso, evaluating a few new components and starting the job of assessing the Pirelli Mediums and Softs on a track where tyre management is crucial. The long corners at the Shanghai International Circuit put them under a lot of strain, particularly the front left and, as expected, graining is a factor. But if a driver keeps calm and deals with the problem, after a few laps the graining is over and he is left with a tyre that is still good for more laps.
Having been fastest in the morning, under the watchful eye of the new head of the Gestione Sportiva, Marco Mattiacci, Fernando Alonso ended the day in second spot, behind the strongest driver-car combo of the season so far, Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, while the Englishman’s team-mate, Nico Rosberg sandwiched the Ferrari man in third spot. Next up in fourth and fifth places were the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, with Felipe Massa sixth for Williams. Raikkonen was seventh, pleased to have got 25 laps under his belt at last.
No one is expected to really challenge the Mercedes duo in tomorrow’s grid deciding session, unless the weather throws us a curve ball but in the Prancing Horse camp, everyone is pushing hard to be the best of the rest, as the opening quartet of races approaches its end.