Lewis Hamilton suggested Mercedes will be back in control for this weekend 's Chinese Grand Prix . Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel conjured one of the biggest surprises for many a Formula One season with the team 's first victory for almost two years at the last race in Malaysia . Many people expected another dominant Mercedes campaign in the wake of last season 's crushing success and thoroughly convincing win in the opening race in Australia . Lewis Hamilton was fastest in first practice for this weekend 's Chinese Grand Prix . The Mercedes driver , who leads the championship , set the pace as he bids to win his fourth race in China . Hamilton was over half-a-second clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in opening practice . 1 . Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:39.033 . 2 . Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.574 . 3 . Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:40.157 . 4 . Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:40.661 . 5 . Felipe Nasr Sauber - Ferrari 1:41.012 . 6 . Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull - Renault 1:41.029 . 7 . Daniil Kvyat Red Bull - Renault 1:41.097 . 8 . Carlos Sainz Jr Toro Rosso - Renault 1:41.112 . 9 . Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:41.303 . 10 . Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:41.304 . 11 . Pastor Maldonado Lotus - Mercedes 1:41.335 . 12 . Max Verstappen Toro Rosso - Renault 1:41.575 . 13 . Jenson Button McLaren 1:41.845 . 14 . Marcus Ericsson Sauber - Ferrari 1:41.918 . 15 . Jolyon Palmer Lotus - Mercedes 1:41.967 . 16 . Sergio Perez Force India - Mercedes 1:42.141 . 17 . Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:42.161 . 18 . Nico Hulkenberg Force India - Mercedes 1:42.184 . 19 . Will Stevens Marussia - Ferrari 1:45.379 . 20 . Roberto Merhi Marussia - Ferrari 1:46.443 . Even Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff suggested Ferrari 's success was ' a wake-up call ' to his organisation . Without doubt Mercedes responded in the first practice session ahead of the latest race at the Shanghai International Circuit , and none more so than reigning champion Hamilton . A three-times winner at this track , including last season , Hamilton finished 0.541secs clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg , with a best lap of one minute 39.033secs . None of their rivals even came close , with Vettel a further half a second adrift at 1:40.157secs , with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen 1.6secs down on Hamilton . Valtteri Bottas was ninth in his Williams , over two seconds shy of Hamilton 's best time . Jenson Button was within three seconds of Hamilton 's lap and 13th in the first practice standings . Fresh from winning in Malaysia , Vettel was best of the rest in Shanghai behind the two Mercedes drivers . 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 . Behind Mercedes and Ferrari , the best of the rest was Felipe Nasr in his Sauber , with the Brazilian rookie 1.979secs off the pace , whilst Daniel Ricciardo finished 1.996secs down for Red Bull . No other driver came within two seconds of Hamilton , with Daniil Kvyat seventh for Red Bull , followed by Toro Rosso 's Carlos Sainz . 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 . As for McLaren , Jenson Button was 13th and Fernando Alonso 17th , with the latter 3.128secs behind Hamilton , with even Jolyon Palmer ahead of him on his debut for Lotus . 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 . Manor pair Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi both enjoyed plenty of track time , completing 38 laps between them . For young British rookie Stevens his 18 laps were crucial as he had so far failed to take part in either qualifying session or race in Australia and Malaysia . Stevens finished 6.346secs behind Hamilton , with Merhi bringing up the rear another 1.1secs down .
Lewis Hamilton over half-a-second clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg . Sebastian Vettel was a further second adrift of the McLaren pair . Jenson Button was 13th and Fernando Alonso 17th for Mercedes .