World championship leader Sebastian Vettel set the pace in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, topping the timesheets in both sessions in Shanghai yesterday in his speedy Red Bull
Reigning formula one world champ quickest at Shanghai GP practiceWorld championship leader Sebastian Vettel set the pace in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, topping the timesheets in both sessions in Shanghai yesterday in his speedy Red Bull.
The 23-year-old German, the reigning world champion, has been the dominant force in the opening two races of the year, winning in Australia and Malaysia from pole position.
He again stayed ahead of the field at the Shanghai International Circuit, leading Australian teammate Mark Webber by six-tenths of a second in morning practice.
While Briton Lewis Hamilton was within 0.166secs of Vettel in the afternoon session for McLaren, Vettel still finished with the fastest lap of the day with a time of 1min 37.688secs. Vettel, who took Red Bull's first win as a constructor in China in 2009, said: "We found a good rhythm and we're happy with the car.u00a0 There's still a lot to do and I think it will be tight tomorrow and on Sunday, so we'll look where we can improve.
Hamilton unhappyHamilton, who hinted that he could leave McLaren in search of more success if the British team cannot provide him with a car capable of winning multiple world championships, said the Red Bulls were again in firm charge.
"I've been really struggling with the balance of my car, and I don't know if that's because of the upgrade that we have, or whether it's with the set-up. In the end I was able to get a relatively decent lap time, but I wasn't very comfortable in the car," the 26-year-old said.
Meanwhile, Jenson Button was third in the second practice, a quarter of a second behind Vettel while Ferrari's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was another dogged by technical issues and spent much of the afternoon sidelined by a hydraulics problem. The Spaniard managed to finish 14th fastest.
