NOTEBOOK: Friday China

Mercedes 

P1- 1^st Lewis Hamilton, 2^nd Nico Rosberg            P2- 1^st Lewis Hamilton, 5th Nico Rosberg

Mercedes looked to have built and learnt from the mistakes in Sepang and from the time sheets appeared to be back where they were in Melbourne. Hamilton in P1 & P2 went quicker than the Ferrari’s the gap is close. But whether Ferrari has the ability to challenge Mercedes in the race on a regular basis this will require more proof that they can.

Ferrari
P1-3^rd Sebastian Vettel, 4^th Kimi Raikkonen          P2- 4^th  Sebastian Vettel, 2^nd Kimi Raikkonen

Ferrari once again proved they are the closest team to Mercedes with them only being the real challenger to the world champions. We will find out if there victory in Sepang was a one off or a real treat to Mercedes this week and next week in Bahrain. Keep an eye on Ferrari this weekend to find out.

Williams
P1- 10^th Felipe Massa, 9^th Valtteri Bottas                                P2- 17^th Felipe Massa, 7^th Valtteri Bottas

Williams had a disappointing day with Felipe Massa because was out of position in the second session. However they may not have the long run pace. However this may have been masking there true pace by focusing on the qualifying runs as a leap to better long  runs. They look to be overall in third place.

Sauber
P1- 5^th Felipe Nasr, 14^th Marcus Ericsson                 P2- 8^th Felipe Nasr, 13^th Marcus Ericsson

Sauber had a mixed day on track showing they  have pace but it will be a challenge for the team to stay in the top end of the table. But they need to work hard to stay ahead of the better funded teams. Sauber are a privateer team which means they may have difficulties to stay ahead of the bigger teams.

Toro Rosso
P1- 12^th Max Verstappen, 8^th Carlos Sainz              P2- 14^th Max Verstappen, 15^th Carlos Sainz

Toro Rosso has gone ahead of their bigger better funded brother. They will be looking to stay ahead of Red Bull however this may be difficult in the long term. It maybe when there young drivers make inexperience catches up with them. They like any other driver and team want to beat their nearest rival.

(ran out of time for Red Bull, Louts, Manor, Force India and McLaren.