article_snippet.sent: Lewis Hamilton was fastest in first practice for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix .
article_snippet.sent: Lewis Hamilton was over half-a-second clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in opening practice .
article_snippet.sent: A three-times winner at this track, including last season, champion Hamilton finished 0.541secs clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg, with a best lap of one minute 39.033secs.
article_snippet.sent: None of their rivals even came close, with Vettel a further half a second adrift at 1:40.157secs, with Vettel team-mate Kimi Raikkonen 1.6secs down on champion Hamilton.
article_snippet.sent: Valtteri Bottas was ninth in Valtteri Bottas Williams, over two seconds shy of champion Hamilton's best time .
article_snippet.sent: Jenson Button was within three seconds of champion Hamilton's lap and 13th in the first practice standings .
article_snippet.sent: Fresh from winning in Malaysia, Vettel was best of the rest in Shanghai behind the two Mercedes 1:39.574 . 3 drivers .
article_snippet.sent: To underline Mercedes' supremacy and the gap to Raikkonen, from the Finn in fourth to Force India's Nico Hulkenberg in 18th, there was a difference of just 1.5secs.
article_snippet.sent: Behind Mercedes and Ferrari, the best of the rest in Shanghai was Felipe Nasr in Felipe Nasr Sauber, with the Brazilian rookie 1.979secs off the pace, whilst Daniel Ricciardo finished 1.996secs down for Red Bull.
article_snippet.sent: No other driver came within two seconds of champion Hamilton, with Daniil Kvyat seventh for Red Bull, followed by Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz.
article_snippet.sent: The Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa completed the top 10, 2.27secs adrift and split by a mere one thousandth of a second.
article_snippet.sent: As for McLaren, Jenson Button was 13th and Fernando Alonso 17th, with the latter 3.128secs behind Hamilton, with even Jolyon Palmer ahead of Hamilton on Hamilton debut for Lotus.
article_snippet.sent: Last year's GP2 champion, serving as reserve with Lotus this season, was 15th and 2.934secs down, with highly-experienced team-mate Pastor Maldonado only 0.6secs ahead.
article_snippet.sent: Manor pair Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi both enjoyed plenty of track time, completing 38 laps between Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi both.
article_snippet.sent: Stevens young British rookie Stevens 18 laps were crucial as young British rookie Stevens had so far failed to take part in either qualifying session or race in Australia and Malaysia.
article_snippet.sent: Stevens finished 6.346secs behind Hamilton, with Merhi bringing up the rear another 1.1secs down.
highlights_snippet.sent: Lewis Hamilton over half-a-second clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Sebastian Vettel was a further second adrift of the Mercedes pair .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Jenson Button was 13th and Fernando Alonso 17th for McLaren .