Practice 1: Kimi Fastest, Alonso 2nd, Lewis 4th.

By Sam Cooper
October 5 2007

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes formula one team have completed the first free practice session for this weekends Chinese Grand Prix. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso finished the session in 2nd place behind pace setter Kimi Räikkönen. Felipe Massa bet current championship leader Lewis Hamilton to third place.

Conditions at Shanghai were warm and sunny, with the track temperature reaching a scorching 45°C. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen was fastest in today’s first session, the Ferrari driver can still mathematically win the drivers world championship, but he desperately needs a double McLaren retirement if he is to win this year’s drivers championship.

Just eight one hundredths of a second behind Kimi was reigning world champion Fernando Alonso, who is being forced to use a spare tub following his high speed Fuji shunt. Two one hundredths of a second behind Fernando Alonso was Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

Lewis Hamilton ended the session in 4th place; a couple of tenths behind pace setter Räikkönen, Lewis completed twenty laps of the 5.4KM circuit. William’s Nico Rosberg ended the ninety minute session best of the rest in 5th place a full half second slower than Hamilton.

The BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica ended the session in 6th place, Kubica will drop ten places on the grid after the stewards decided to punish the Polish driver for colliding with Hamilton last weekend in the treacherous conditions at last weekends exiting Japanese Grand Prix. Following Kubica was Toyota’s Jarno Trulli the Italian over a second slower than the fastest Ferrari.

Renaults Giancarlo Fisichella was just eight one thousandths of a second behind his fellow countryman Trulli. Williams’s test driver Kazuki Nakajima filled in for Alexander Wurz. With BMW’s Nick Heidfeld rounding out the top ten.

Times from the session are shown below.