Fri: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday's practices at the Shanghai circuit while Ferrari and Red Bull got involved in the mix…

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton: "Today was definitely an improvement on Friday in Malaysia. It was good to get both sessions in and that puts me in a stronger position. The team has done an amazing job to find some improvements in the car. Balance-wise it's way better than the last race and it was generally feeling really good. I don't know how long I went on each compound but it felt good on the long and short runs. The prime perhaps didn't feel as good as the option but I'll have to go and analyse the data to see where we are compared to the others. It was quite close between us and Ferrari. They look just as fast as they were last time out and Nico was quick as well, so we definitely have a race on. But I feel like I've got some improvements to make and I think we've got the pace to stay ahead."

Nico Rosberg: "It seems that we are very quick on one lap – but I just didn't get my lap together on the softer tyres. I tried a different line on the grass at the final corner, which was not very quick as it turns out! Obviously, that wasn't ideal and it cost me a good lap. But Lewis showed the pace we have in the car. On a long run we need to analyse the data to see where we are but the Ferraris seem to be very strong again. In the morning I tried a new front wing and we collected a lot of data, so that was a very useful session for us. It will be a long night with the engineers to find the best setup for the race on Sunday."

Ferrari:
Kimi Raikkonen: "Overall it has been a good day of work. In the afternoon we had a problem with the brakes but the mechanics did a very good job and managed to fix it, then I was able to go back on track and go on with the programme. It's a bit early to make predictions, we still have things to improve, tomorrow we have to make sure that everything works and have another good day without any issues or problems and then we'll do our best for qualifying and the race."

Sebastian Vettel: "Generally I feel happy in the car, but I think we can improve it for tomorrow, that is usually what Friday is for. So ideally I would have loved to do more laps, but all in all it was a solid session, for the team as well. I think we can do a step forward tomorrow and then we can see what we can do. First of all it is only the third race of season; second, it is a different track compared to Malaysia, therefore the most important thing is to look after ourselves. The target n.1 is that we are right behind Mercedes, you have to accept that they are very strong, as the season gets on we try to get closer and closer. Fight for pole with Mercedes tomorrow? They were very strong today. For us the most important thing is to make a step forward, there are a few things that we can improve. Am I scared of Red Bull? No, it was probably the first more or less ok Friday for them. I think it is clear that it gets tougher as the season goes on, as everybody will find his own rhythm. Tyre management will be crucial."

Red Bull:
Daniel Ricciardo: "We had a good Friday, we got all the running we could from the sessions and our pace looks good. We had a few aero updates and drivability is always getting better, we definitely have had an improvement and that’s all we can ask for. We obviously have a few more steps to take but we’re making them in the right direction, so that’s positive."

Daniil Kvyat: "We are investigating what happened with the brakes, it felt like I couldn’t stop the car, so we need to learn more about that. Everything had been fine up until the end of FP2. It’s a shame I couldn’t make a longer run but we still got many useful laps in. We brought some upgrades here and they look quite positive."