Mercedes dominated the first Chinese Grand Prix practice session on Friday, with Nico Rosberg topping the timing screens by almost half a second over team-mate Lewis Hamilton in second.
The Red Bull duo came in third and fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari and the struggling McLaren of Jenson Button in sixth.
Button’s team-mate suffered a bizarre accident when he crashed in the pitlane entrance – where Hamilton ended up in 2007 to cost him a race win and the title.
Kimi Raikkonen ran wide and spun across the track at turn nine. He finished 11th quickest come the end of the session.
Former HRT third driver Ma Qing Hua made his debut with Caterham and brought up the rear, just 1.5 seconds slower than team-mate Giedo van der Garde.
FP1 Times – 2013 Chinese Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:36.717 | 21 | |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.171 | +0.454 | 20 |
| 03. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:37.658 | +0.941 | 21 |
| 04. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:37.942 | +1.225 | 20 |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.965 | +1.248 | 17 |
| 06. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:38.069 | +1.352 | 24 |
| 07. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:38.095 | +1.378 | 14 |
| 08. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:38.125 | +1.408 | 21 |
| 09. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.398 | +1.681 | 17 |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:38.561 | +1.844 | 15 |
| 11. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:38.790 | +2.073 | 16 |
| 12. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:39.057 | +2.340 | 19 |
| 13. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:39.158 | +2.441 | 22 |
| 14. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:39.180 | +2.463 | 21 |
| 15. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:39.336 | +2.619 | 19 |
| 16. | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:39.360 | +2.643 | 20 |
| 17. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:39.392 | +2.675 | 20 |
| 18. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:40.032 | +3.315 | 22 |
| 19. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:41.966 | +5.249 | 16 |
| 20. | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:42.056 | +5.339 | 18 |
| 21. | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:42.083 | +5.366 | 21 |
| 22. | M. Qing Hua | Caterham | 1:43.545 | +6.828 | 20 |
